FOLTYNEWICZ was exposed by L.A.’s hitters. He stepped up a notch this season, but needs two more to become a #1. I really don’t see him as such going forward.

At this point, he’s ultimately a #2 to my mind. Not enough patience yet. Not getting the calls so, he hurls a fat one, and “boom,” rocket over the fence. Still getting frustrated by calls when the pitch is an excellent borderline one, but the ump calls a ball. Hasn’t learned to adjust to what the ump is calling in that particular game. Very important consideration to becoming a seasoned pitcher.

NEWCOMB should hold a slot. He should improve as he learns how to pitch. Takes time, several years as a starter.

Anibal Sanchez

Kevin Gausman

I liked GAUSMAN and SANCHEZ well enough to bring back to spring training to compete, but I wouldn’t automatically grant either of them a slot.

I really have had my fill of TEHERAN. Hopefully, we have enough qualified candidates after spring training to trade him.

Mike Soroka

I consider the shoulder malady to SOROKA the most egregious arm injury this season. He would have been a rising star in the pitching corps this year in my estimation, and I believe in the minds of all the bloggers here as well. Frankly, I think his injury to be a very serious one. More serious than has be advertised by the organization to this point. I have feared it might actually be career ending. I’m wrong, right?

Touki Toussaint

TOUKI TOUSSAINT will grab the #4 slot out of spring training. I really liked what i saw of him in the post-season. I think the kid’s really got a future with ATLANTA.

Luiz Gohara

If LUIZ GOHARA finally takes his conditioning seriously, he could become a force in the starting rotation. Hopefully, personal family distractions are behind him at this point. I really hope the 2018 season made an impression on his mind, and he approaches 2019 with a will to excel.

Kyle Wright

KYLE WRIGHT appears poised for his first serious look at the 25-man this spring and a/the #5 slot.

Bryse Wilson

I really like BRYSE WILSON as a AAA/ATL floater in 2019. He’s a bulldog with the will to succeed.

Patrick Weigel

Darren O’Day

When thinking of bullpen holes to be patched for 2019, DARREN O’DAY and PATRICK WEIGEL come to mind as two potential candidates for the BRAVES. Spring training should show us where we stand with them.

Who should find a place in the 2019 bullpen?

AJ Minter

The whole danged place is such a MASH unit of maladies, and ineptitude, RH A.J. MINTER appears as the only rock-solid carryover to my mind, and he’s still getting OJT learning to pitch and not just throw. Back-end member.

VIZCAINO if he can stay healthy for the back-end as well. Big if.

I somehow see MAX FRIED in the pen for long-relief. Call me crazy.

SAM FREEMAN was overused and exposed, but used judiciously, he is effective.

Nice work there Gordon! Yeah, something seems missing with Folty. speaking of I.Q. baseball I.Q. Folty right now, lacks it. he’s 27. Of course DeGrom wasn’t much til he hit 27 either.
But Smoltz would have had those Dodgers eating out of his hand, since he knows they were all swinging for the fences, when they don’t take pitches….

3B? Either AUSTIN RILEY or JOHAN CARMAGO depending on spring training results. Come on calendar, let the games begin.

Catcher? A wish get – J.T. REALMUTO. Both agreed not gonna’ happen. Not a free agent until age 30 for the 2021 season, arb 2 in 2019, JETER will want the moon and five top prospects for him. Solution, ZUKI and FLOW one more time with WILLIE CONTRERAS on the vine by then. BRETT CUMBERLAND as back-up insurance though I hate not bring up “Stash” GIARDINA from GWINNETT. Man, that guy can grow facial hair.

Yes to keeping DANSBY SWANSON, he is like fine wine, improves with age.

No discussion about OZZIE ALBIES.

FREDDIE was a given, and only minimal discussion of his swing which soon swerved out of the strike zone to MATTY DIAZ, the best bad-ball hitter I ever saw in a BRAVES uni.

Surely there’s a reason for the disparity other than a deductible. Water damage or wind, which? I was an insurance person and teacher of the coverages for 30 years. Were you underinsured in relation to your home and contents values? Did you have replacement cost on both home and contents? Can you name the insurer. Did an independent appraiser review your claim or a company man?

Company man. Have good coverage. That above is standard for insurance people in this area. They deduct for such ambiguities as ‘recoverable depreciation’ and ‘non-recoverable depreciation’. And it was for both water damage and wind (part of a tree fell on the house, breaking through the roof allowing 33.3″ of hurricane driven rain to pour in, ruining walls, insulation, carpet, etc.) Then there is the ever-present deductible in a hurricane-prone area which equals 2% or $2,000 whichever is greater.
I’m not the only one. Everybody down here experiences the same thing.
Also, down here, the regular homeowner’s policy is totally separate from the wind and water policy. Companies won’t even write an all-inclusive policy. A regular HO policy runs around $400 @ year +/-. The wind-water policy runs around $1500 @ year. Add $400 flood ins which is another (3rd) policy and the average household pays in the neighborhood of $2300 per year, just for owning a home. Make more than 3 claims and they shut you down. I’ve had neighbors who have never made a claim who were rejected after they made their first claim following a hurricane.
I’m required to have flood ins. because, according to whoever, there is a 1% chance that my home would flood in a 100-year flood event. My house sits 1 stupid little inch below the 13’2″ elevation that was set by whoever using whatever parameters as the required elevation at this one spot.
I’m so disgusted I hardly know what to do. I apologize to all of you for ranting.

From what you’ve said, it appears the insurers have retreated from their previous levels of coverage, splitting out wind and water damage, and selling it as a separate coverage. It appears that you do not have full replacement, possibly on both home and contents because of your statement about depreciation.

I’m sorry you can’t get the coverage you once had, but this will become standard I fear as water levels continue to rise, and storms become stronger, and more frequent. Insurers are reactionary and conservative in nature to prevent bankruptcy. To stay in business, and keep premiums somewhat affordable to the public these types of steps are necessary unfortunately.

I could say a lot more on the subject, but it wouldn’t make your case any better I’m afraid. I do sympathize with you plight.

Thanks, Gordon. It’s pretty much been that way in this area since we were hit with something like 7 hurricanes over a 9 month period (in 2 seasons) in the mid-90s.
Better coverage IS available but the premiums are so high (more than $2,000 per year just for wind and water) that few people can afford it.
State Farm had been my previous insurer but the prices kept rising until it was simply out of my reach, especially when combined with all the other coverage I had to buy.
After that period in the 90s, most ins companies wanted to pull out of the area completely but TPTB at the time wouldn’t let them. So, they did the next best thing (for them): raise prices. People had to drop out for financial reasons. Buy food and pay the electric bill or carry the insurance they’d had previously. Not really a choice.
IMHO, those who live on the beaches are the ones who should shoulder those high premiums since they are the ones who sustain the big losses. They chose to live in the high danger area in their million+ dollar seasonal homes and can well afford it. But, no. The rest of us who have MUCH lower cost claims have to pay part of their share, too. Who said life was fair?
Anyhow, as angry as I get/am about their chicanery, I’ll get over it. Until next time. 😀
Thanks for your thoughts, Gordon. I’m so glad you’re here.

ok guys, tell me why A.J. Pollock is all that and a bag of chips?
21 HR’s (career high) 65 RBIs, 13 steals, 31 walks .257 BA .316 OBP, in the 2nd easiest park in baseball to homer in? only once in his career has he played more than 137 games. and 31 in Dec.

Adam Jones (33) 2018, 15 HRs 63 RBIs .281 BA .313 OBp (yikes!)
Thing is, till this year, 7 straight years of 25 or more HR’s.
playing for the worst team in baseball, can’t be easy. Worth a risk in RF? Still can play CF? Highly doubt he will have a qualifying offer….offered by the O’s.

I’ll take Cutch on a 2 year (with a 3rd year option) deal to bridge to Cristian Pache. I like him over Brantley, Jones, etc. Over Pollock? In the right deal, maybe. If it allows me to redirect assets to a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, then 100% yes.

Hmmm… I just took a glance at Cutch’s numbers vs. those of Nick Markakis. You know who had the better season in 2018? That’d be the 34 year old Kakes. The only stat where Cutch (age 32) was superior was HR (20-14). Yet Nick blew him out of the water in RBI 93-65.

Yes, Kakes drove in 93 runs this year.

If we are to go down this “bridge to Pache” road, I’d just as soon bring back a familiar and respected leader. I just believe this is one area that we have to increase our power potential. So as much as we may pour over the FA market and bandy about names, I believe this is a position that Thoppy is going to have to address via trade.

Name to remember: Nomar Mazara.

And what if…

What if AA really went big and took some of his vaunted prospect capital to CIN and brought back Cl Raisel Iglesias and 3B Eugenio Suárez, he of the 34 bombs in 2018?

Why would CIN do it?? Well, for one, they have highly rated 3B prospect Nick Senzel ready to emerge, but without a position. In fact, they are trying to teach him OF in Instructional League… sound like a familiar theme? As for Iglesias, he’s been the topic of trade rumors since last July.

CIN needs pitching like Pres. Trump needs a handler. We have young pitching in spades. We could make a blockbuster deal to bring us a closer and a 3B bopper, then turn around and use our own Austin Riley to acquire a TOTR pitcher.

I know… I’m starting to sound like the free-wheeling fantasy league execs. But what else is there to do on Oct. 17?

Ha ha… I left off the paragraph where I circle back and address the OF opening. To me, that’s simple…

If I bring in Suárez for the hot corner, I bump Johan Camargo out to LF, where he has shown in limited appearances that he can play. If I’ve increased my power at 3B, I can keep Camargo’s steady production in LF.

Of course, I suppose there’s an argument to be made to just pay Mike Moustakas or Josh Donaldson of you want to bump up your power at the 3B position. And we all know that Thoppy has a previous connection to Donaldson. The 3-time All-Star had MVP votes in 5 straight years – winning 1 – prior to the injury marred 2018. And he looked pretty much like the “Bringer of Rain” we’re used to in his brief 16 games with CLE.

Still, it’s supposed to be easier to find power in the corner OF market. But is it really?

Make no mistake, MadBum is gonna cost ya. From what I’m reading, you can pretty much figure he’ll cost 1 major league ready pitcher, another Top 10 prospect, and another couple of lower tier prospects.

And that’s for just 2019. He’s a FA at next season’s end.

Why the hoopla? Well, his 2019 team option, which San Fran would have to pick up then trade, is for only $12M, and he’s Madison Friggin’ Bumgarner.

And for the Braves, the 29-year-old North Carolina native should see the young up-and-coming hometown Braves as a favorite to sign a long term deal with. I know I’m biased, but of you were looking for a landing spot for your big FA deal, wouldn’t it make sense to come home and lead a young a ridiculously talented rotation with a chance to win for the foreseeable future? I would think so.

I have always liked McCutchen but he is another player on the downward trend of his career.

Now, I am not so foolish as to expect something for nothing. Way too much information out there now so most everyone knows the plus and minus on every player. It has come down to matching up with folks who have a surplus of something you need while you have a surplus of something they need.

That entails some real deep diving on the scouting department in my opinion.

And if you add power but retain Camargo, doesn’t make sense that you add it with an outfielder instead of losing it on defense in your infield?

Yes it does. But again I ask the question: Who is the OF that will consistently give you 30+ HR? And as for defense, Josh Donaldson always grades out among the best defensive 3B. In fact, he ranked the #3 defensive 3B in 2017 behind only Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado. He didn’t play enough innings in 2018 to make the list.

You lost me at Touki on that trade Vee. I think I would rather have Touki’s future than Bumgardner’s past.

I don’t want MadBum’s past, I want his age 29-35 prime years. He’s a proven ace, and there aren’t many of those to be had. He’s what you hope Touki might one day become. And if you want quality, you have to pay quality.

If I lose Touki, I can still toss a rotation of MadBum, Folty, Gausman, Mike Soroka, Newk, Julio, Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Kolby Allard, or Bryce Wilson. And that’s just who will be ML ready in 2019. That doesn’t even take into account Ian Anderson, Joey Wentz, Patrick Weigel, and Kyle Muller.

I wouldn’t give up Touki for just anyone, but I would for MadBum, especially since I’ve still got an embarrassment of riches to draw from.

And if you can convince the G-men’s new GM (See what I did there?) to take another prospect not named Soroka, Wright or Anderson then I’m on board. But we all know the first name to be asked for is Touki.

And I’m not giving up on Sean Newcomb either. I think with the right coaching (cough cough not Chuck Hernandez) Newk can be dominating with his stuff. He just exudes “Jon Lester” to me.

I agree… I would prefer to part with those folks over Touki also (except Anderson). But who wouldn’t? San Fran will not want to take a lesser commodity, and they’ll want someone that can step right in and go in 2019. That pares the above list down to really 2 names, Allard and Touki. If you were on the other side, would you accept Allard based on what you saw in 2018? Now, that’s not to say that he cannot still develop further, but that’s not what they’ll want. They’ll want Touki.

I’m not arguing, mind you. Just disagreeing. That used to be a thing. Now it’s rapidly becoming extinct. So as civilized Americans – a rarity these days – we can simply disagree on this point and go on respecting and loving each other. It’s what makes the world go around. I sure wish the world would remember that.

We keep mentioning “bridging” to the next big thing in Cristian Pache, and that’s warranted. But there’s another kid moving up the ranks that we should also be a little excited about, and that’s young Drew Waters. Like Pache, he may not be more than 2 years away himself, and he’s a classic “5 tool” player.

Prospect report: Waters is a veritable toolshed who simply needs time and reps to use those tools consistently and have them turn into performance. All the pieces are there for him to potentially develop into a dynamic everyday player and he took a large step in the right direction in 2018. ETA: 2021

In 114 games combined between A- Rome and A+ Florida this past season, the SH slashed .293/.343/.476 with 9 bombs, 39 doubles, 9 triples, and 23 stolen bases. And he plays all 3 OF spots with ease.

I’m betting he starts the 2019 season back at A+, but moves up quickly to AA if he gets off to a strong start. I think they’ll want to keep him challenged.

Uh-h-h…..no. Well…..maybe. UFA POLLACK is available for years and $$$.

BUMGARDNER, and REALMUTO are still tied to their teams, and both GM’s [SABEAN-JETER] are too savvy, or too greedy if you will for us to pay the sky-high future price in prospects for either.

SAN FRAN is negotiating for a new multi-year deal for MADISON, and I think it’s ultimately a done deal.

We’ve got the goods if we are patient, and let our top arms develop. We have more than enough depth in the arms department to withstand injuries, and inability to develop on the MLB level.

I know a true #1 is needed to make the starting rotation top notch.

I just think we will eventually have our own if we hold onto our best talent.

It may take a new pitching coach, a change in approach to pitching, and several years to do.

I of all people should not be preaching patience at 75+, but I really think that’s where we should be.

If a top established talent with a future falls in our lap for one or two of our 1-A arms, that’s a horse of another color. Not that I believe that will happen.

We are not in the weaker position. We have the talent to win championships already with what’s in house both on the mound and in the field.

CRISTIAN PACHE and DREW WATERS are on the vine. We already have a young vet in INCIARTE, and the top ML outfield rookie in ACUNA.

Btw, PACHE is THE best fielder of anyone in our organization, and any other, but his bat is lagging, and he may arrive still needing big improvement in that area. WATERS is the better bat, and I believe a corner outfielder going forward. Both should be in ATLANTA by 2021.

3B has both AUSTIN RILEY and C.J. ALEXANDER on the vine. RILEY may make the club out of ST. ALEXANDER looks determined to arrive by 2021.

SS has DANSBY SWANSON and JOHAN CAMARGO with CHARLIE CULBERSON on the bench for 3B, SS, LF, and 2B.

2B has OZZIE ALBIES. I don’t see anyone coming up behind him I like other than RILEY DELGADO, a singles hitter who has to develop some power to be anything other than a placeholder. On him, lukewarm.

1B has FREDDIE FREEMAN. i don’t see anyone coming up I like behind him at all. JOEY MENESES is gone, about to debut in the PHILLIES camp in 2019.

C has WILLIE CONTRERAS on the vine and ripe by 2021. This is the one area where we could use beef-ed up talent. ZUKI and FLO are at the end of their careers. REALMUTO here makes good sense, but JETER is not going to get off too steep a price in prospects.

If you can pick up on the signs on the field and use it to your advantage, then you’re just doing your job. But once you go off the field and begin to use cameras, video, etc… well, then your crossing the line.

The question really comes down to: Is it a rule or is it in “the book”? Is it spelled out somewhere, or just a gentleman’s agreement between competitors? If it’s just an agreement, and teams are starting to stray from it, then either spell it out or deal with the consequences.

It does appear to be Boston’s year, they have already beaten two 100 win teams to get there and it has not really been that close.

All and all, the NL series have been more entertaining but that is only if you are not a Boston fan. For all those north-easterners, I’m pretty certain they would disagree.

Now, if we can just have a series not decided by replay/umpiring. Jim West, bless his heart, just has to get involved somehow. 6 umpires and you still need replay? Add cameras to the foul poles to determine boundary calls. They have cameras everywhere else for goodness sake.

BETTS had the ball, and the dude was out all the way. Fan interference no doubt. He pushed the glove aside, closing it, and went for the ball. Doesn’t matter if it was in the stands and over the yellow line. An outfielder is allowed to jump and reach over the fence to bring a ball back into the field of play.

“Like beating the shift, nobody out in the inning and no one on, bunt the damn ball… Or like Gordon said to me the other day, the way Ty Cobb beat the shift, “he hit them where they ain’t… “
FWIW, Wee Willie Keeler said it first! 😛

this is the least interest I can ever recall in the playoffs, save a strike ruined year. Not sure why, Brewers would be the team I could root for, since they never get to the W.S. and surely has never won one, (right?) but that’s not looking likely.
Perhaps since the braves were in the playoffs for the first time in years, that disappointed me? (and you all too of course)

It’d take more than just Johan Camargo to net Hunter Renfroe, and he’s the most likely of their OF”s to be traded. I doubt they’d even begin to consider trading Franmil Reyes, and Wil Myers’ contract is a deterrent (owed $73M through 2022).

Still, Renfroe would look good in any OF, and especially ATL’s. He’s a youngster – just 26 – and under team control until 2024. He’s just coming into his power stroke, which has already yielded an average of 36 HR over a 162 game schedule in parts of 3 seasons. He’s said to have “plus plus power to his pull side” as a RH bat. He would be perfect to slip in at cleanup behind Freddie. His downside is that he does tend to swing and miss a good bit. But what pure power hitter doesn’t in the modern era? The power threat alone is enough to get more fastballs thrown to Freddie, and that’s what we’ve been missing.

If you want Renfroe, you better be willing to part with Camargo and a pitcher… maybe Max Fried? They might like to have Fried back now that he’s healed up nicely from when they threw his injured elbow in the Justin Upton deal.

Chances are they will non-tender one of their 3 utility IF’s, so why not try to get one back in the deal as well? Cory Spangenberg is a nice LH hitting guy that can play all over the place… sort of the LH compliment to Charlie Culberson. If we’re losing Camargo, I’d like to replace his versatility.

Camargo and Fried for Renfroe and Spangenberg?

Then our bench will sound like an accounting firm: Culberson and Spangenberg.

While I know I am not one to talk but… Luiz Gohara should take notice of Matt Kemp’s “Comeback Player of the Year” award by the Sporting News. Amazing what losing a bit of weight can do for your career. Of course, you have to have a career to comeback to so there is that….

Well, sadly for the Brewers fans, I watched some of the game…sorry brewers fans
well…I was thinkin’ (I do that once in awhile) An L.A.-Red Sox is good for baseball viewing numbers nationwide….I also think I am not really a fan of the Dodgers, and not just because of Manny B.E. (Big Ears) not totally sure why…I really dislike David Price (Who I used to really like, til he decided to get into the face of Dennis Eckersley on a plane, and never apologized) but the rest of the Red Sox seem scrappy…sigh….trying to put a good face on a W.S. just not that interested in….

I believe CRAIG COUNSELL was the reason, maybe the SOLE reason, MILWAUKEE was in a game seven with the DODGERS. He was a complete pain in the rump for us BRAVES’ fans as a player, and he’s doing a fantastic job transferring that stick-to-it, feisty attitude to his team.

If he would listen, I would offer him the moon and a few stars to become the BRAVES head coach, and imbue our organization with the same aggressive can-do attitude.

I know BRIAN SNITKER and his staff are equally committed to winning, but they’re more low-key in their approach it seems to me.

Ha, the old adage in golf is “keep your nose in your own bag” Goes with coveting other teams managers too… 🙂

One thing I have observed over the years is how every coach/manager brings his own unique style to the game. Perhaps the toughest part is how to keep 25 individuals moderately happy on a ball club. I think the key is knowing how to get the most with the hand you are dealt and I must admit Council has got the most out of his players this season.

But too often I hear folks on twitter and other venues pine for a guy who has had success on the big stage. It appears that Joe Giradi it the prime pick for most fans. He has already turned down offers from the Reds and the Jays. I wonder where he wants to go, the Nationals? I know it would be a big name team like the Cubs but is the Joe Madden era over all ready?

Methinks the Brewers just ran out of gas. They put up a valiant fight but in reality, the Dodgers were a better team and over the long haul, that just proves out 99% of the time.

Possible the turning point in last night’s game was the magnificent catch made by Chris Taylor of the Dodgers. A sliding catch in the gap on a fly ball hit by Yelich with the tying run on 2nd. It energized the Dodgers and deflated the Brewers. I don’t know what the catch probability was on that play but I would venture it was in the teens.

Not the series, since I don’t have dog in that fight, I am not sure how much I will watch but I will watch some of it. The Red Sox have to be the favorite but as the venerable Yogi Berra once said, “ya just never know”

It is why the game are played on the field and with the current caliber of umpiring in the majors, well, don’t be surprised if Blue somehow gets in the middle of a good series.

In Arizona Fall League play, uber prospect Christian Pache is making impressive showing in the first week of play. He is why I don’t see the Braves signing an outfielder in the off season to any long term contracts. 2 years max I would say before he is in Atlanta. I would venture he would be pretty high on other ball clubs want list in trade talks. They know Acuna is not going anywhere so they will ask for the Braves next best position player prospect.

They know Acuna is not going anywhere so they will ask for the Braves next best position player prospect.

… which is currently Austin Riley. I imagine both names will be mentioned liberally this winter.

Pache has not yet proven he can hit consistently at the higher minor league levels, but Riley has. That’s not to say that Pache will not, but he’s still got work to do. Hopefully his progress curve will stay steady and the improvement he made in 2018 – including finding a little power – will continue into 2019.

If [Craig Counsell] would listen, I would offer him the moon and a few stars to become the BRAVES head coach, and imbue our organization with the same aggressive can-do attitude.

Not me. Nobody could have squeezed 90 wins out of that flawed Braves roster but their current skipper. And they’ll tell you that themselves. That was all about attitude. They didn’t have the 25-man roster to stack up against most of the NL, but they still managed to pull out alot of games, especially late. That’s nothing but attitude.

As for Craig Counsell, meh… he’s a good manager. But he was expected to win with that team this year. And he did. Good for him for meeting expectations. I think alot of teams might win with Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun at the top of their order, not to mention Travis Shaw knocking 32 dingers from the cleanup spot with Jesus Aguilar contributing 35 more right behind him. That’s a pretty imposing 1-5. Then you drop in Mike Moustakas at #6 mid-season and you really have something cooking.

Snit got Adam Duvall. Think about that.

Did you know the Braves had nobody hit more than 30 HR’s, with just 3 guys slapping 20 or more? It’s hard to imagine any team in today’s game not having a single player bopping 30 HR’s. Meanwhile, the Brewers had 3 over 30… with Yelich leading those already mentioned with 36 more. (I shouldn’t even mention Eric Thames slamming 16 more HR’s off the bench, but it is what it is.) For the record, RAJ led the Braves with 26, and Freddie was 3rd with just 23. Hard to believe, eh? Hard to believe that Ozzie out homered Freddie 24-23, but he did. And Camargo checks in at #4 with just 19. Heck, Thames’ 16 would have slotted at #5 on our team. But I digress… Still, it illustrates the deficiencies that Snit had to deal with.

And this is no direct knock on Kakes, but I wonder what our offense might could have achieved if Freddie had a a guy or 2 hitting 30+ home runs behind him? He might have seen a few more fastballs himself. Again, it underscores the top needs that Thoppy must address in this most important offseason so that the Braves can take the step forward that the Brewers took in 2018, when they added both Cain and Yelich after picking up Shaw and Aguilar in 2017. Not a bad handful of additions right there.

I should also mention that MIL is said to have the best bullpen in all of MLB. It’s hard to find a better one.

I say all that to say this: Craig Counsell is a nice manager, but he sure did have alot of nice tools in his toolbox. I know it’s possible to mess up alot of talent – see Dave Martinez in WAS – but I have a really hard time thinking Counsell pulled some rabbit out of his hat. Not like Snit did. Nobody saw that coming in ATL. Not even us here at the ol’ B&S, who sense every slight “disturbance in the Force”.

So the Braves are being prominently mentioned as a possible FA destination for lefty “ace” Patrick Corbin, who will likely receive the 3rd biggest contract this offseason behind Manny “Ber’s Fave” Machado and Bryce Harper.

He’s projected to earn something like 5-6 years @ $20MM-$25MM per year depending on contract length. That’s alot of M’s. But Thoppy should have a few M’s in the old budget this year, so go ahead and pick up Corbin in FA and concentrate the prospect capital on a young hitter or two for RF and/or C. I’m OK with that. 😀

If the Braves could pry 3B Eugenio Suarez away from CIN, his 34 HR’s would augment our offense nicely.

Also, if rumors are true and ARI is considering a rebuild after expecting to lose both Patrick Corbin and AJ Pollock in FA, they may be willing to listen on OF David Peralta, he of 30 HR’s. Alot of national talking heads consider him a likely trade candidate after his career best season in 2018. Peralta is just 31 and not FA eligible until 2021. That might line up nicely with the arrival of Cristian Pache.

And back to the Brewers…

They have a talented and full OF with Cain, Yelich and Braun. And they have no place for youngsters Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana, both of whom should be on someone’s ML roster. They’re also losing alot of starting pitching after this season and will be looking. One of Broxton/SAntana should be their 4th OF in 2019, but one will undoubtedly be used to bring back pitching.

I’ll take Santana in a quick heartbeat, and I’ll take veteran power bat Eric Thames for my bench and to spot start in RF as well. What will it take to get both?

Many national writers seem to think that the Braves and Yankees will make the biggest push for Corbin, who is a NY native. It seems natural that Brian Cashman will make Corbin his top priority when the “silly season” starts.

But what if he loses Corbin to Atlanta? Then where would he turn to for pitching? Well… how about Atlanta?

Perhaps signing Corbin out from under the Yanks might serve a dual purpose. It would give the Braves the top-of-the-rotation starter they need to lead this young and talented rotation and might prompt the Yanks to part with one of their surplus OF’s in an effort to fill their own pitching needs.

If I’m Thoppy, I court Corbin like he’s a last chance prom date and I make sure I get him in the fold. And before the ink has a chance to dry, I’m on the phone to Cashman dangling a list of impressive names.

In fact, since Cashman will lose out on Corbin, he’ll turn his attention to the highest profile name on the FA list – Bryce Harper. He’ll sign Harper to play LF, enabling him to trade Clint Frazier for pitching. It all fits together quite well in my imaginary GM world.

So, are free agents allowed to pursue employment on teams other than where they ended up the the season before the end of the World Series or is it considered tampering until their current employer is given an opportunity to sing them?

Thanks CL, but I was looking for the dates for when it was legal for teams to sign other teams’ free agents. however, I am again reminded that you are always ahead of the game and I only need to scroll down to find the answer to the majority of my questions… 🙂

They are still trying to find all the materials they need. Everything is SO limited in a 200+ mile radius. Sources simply can’t meet the demand and that won’t change for at least a year. Martin is resourceful so it won’t be long, I feel sure. Meanwhile, Kelly & I did locate the carpet she wants, though, so one more thing checked off the list. She’s so excited to see her new room completed and all her things moved into it. I’m happy for her and in knowing that she’s not lingering in the trauma of having that tree come in directly above where she was sleeping.

So, are free agents allowed to pursue employment on teams other than where they ended up the the season before the end of the World Series

There is a specific date and time that these players officially become free agents. (Prior to 2017, those players had to formally file for FA, but that was such a waste of time MLB did away with it.) Anyway, last year it was the morning after the last World Series game at 9 a.m. ET. I would imagine it will be the same this year.

Good afternoon all. It’s a beautiful day here in the Old Dominion. Fall has finally arrived, just in time to make the World Series miserable for most of the participants.

Yes, I am sure agents are not constrained from putting out feelers to all clubs to gauge interest in their clients. I doubt the clubs are allowed to actually negotiate but I guess that is only if they get caught. If I were the Braves I would be by the book…

Speaking of which, how did ol’ pal Kevin Maitan do this season on the Angels Rookie League team?

He hit .248 and made 32 errors in 61 games playing SS.

I sense a position change may be in order.

BTW- That pedestrian performance, even for another team, was certainly not worth the big penalty the Braves took for their efforts to secure that signing. What goes around comes around, kid. And I’m not slamming the youngster, but he was a willing participant from day 1. Yet when the feces hit the fan, he was able to go out and grab a second big signing bonus. That’ll teach him… 🙄 What’s the Spanish translation for “deterrent”? Obviously Rob Manfred does not know.

well, when I went to be, 3-3…
Kershaw with a 92 “heater” is not the same guy….
if he opts out of his 30+ million a year deal for even more…kinda wish the dodgers would let him leave, and he have to take a 1 year deal for a mere 20 mil

LOL, like anyone would opt out of a $30MM deal…. I don’t see a single player who can opting out of their current big money contract. Of course I am sure there are quite a few teams who wish they could opt out of their big money obligations.

Baseball is the only pro sports group where a guaranteed contract is exactly that. The player gets the money no matter what. It is why signing bonuses are so popular in other sports.

So who might be the smartest ball player? A: Bobby Bonilla who gets a cool $1 million each summer. No need for him to move out of his mansion, Who says you can’t blow million of dollars on stupid stuff?

Anyhoo, I did not start watching last night’s game until the 4th inning. Even then, I just had the game on with no sound, I started reading the new John Grisham book yesterday so I did not really need the distraction.

The price paid for getting caught colluding and having an anti trust exemption. Paying for the sins of the fathers or something like that.

Hey, I think it would be helpful if a little of that money was spread around to the minor leagues but it will never happen. Like any union I have ever had a part in, it becomes pretty evident that people will always look after their own self interest first.

Collectivism is the flavor of the month right now. Those in power like it because it’s easier to sway a group than it is an individual. Sheeple like it because they think they can get more stuff for nothing. And they have no idea how severely they are compromising their own individual liberties because those in power are in charge of educating them… just to the point of being impressionable voters. Like sheep to the slaughter.

So… we’re in a somewhat down period as far as any news is concerned. Nothing of note can really happen until the World Series is over anyway, so the next week will be fairly dull as far as mining any real gems in the news. So maybe it’s time to just look at our own and do a little speculation.

To that end, here is how I see the future lining up for our current 40-man roster, plus the wounded, along with their contract status:

The way I see it right now, with no trades (except for Julio; he’s a goner) or signings to take into account, we’ll have about 33 on the 40-man roster, which should be plenty to protect the 3 or 4 necessary from Rule 5 theft, plus make a signing or 2. Any additional spots needed can be accommodated by a corresponding move.

And you may have noticed I’m still undecided on Zuk. I think there’s a real chance the Braves give him a deal similar to Flow’s and the duo continues as a tandem.

At any rate, the major needs are still there: starting pitcher, OF, bullpen (specifically closer)

~Question: What kind of fictional package of pitching do my Braves need to give up for Kyle Schwarber?

~Moderator: For 3 years of Schwarber, how about a straight up deal of Schwarber for Allard or Soroka and maybe a mid-tier prospect. Or Schwarber for Kyle Wright and Max Fried. Cubs lack pitching depth and Braves need a LF/cleanup hitter so there’s definitely a match.

First, let me just day that my personal preference is to not part with Mike Soroka for anything. And Kyle Wright is in that same conversation. As for Max Fried, I think he can be a very valuable reliever in the same mold of Andrew Miller, Josh Hader, and Adam Ottavino… multi-inning pitchers who are becoming increasingly as important as closers. But if, and that’s a really big “if”, if CHC would take the moderator’s first option, something like Kolby Allard and… maybe Tucker Davidson, I’d do that in a heartbeat.

Just read that the Braves’ injured lefty Jacob Lindgren just barely squeaked into the Super 2 cutoff with 2.134 years service time, which was the exact cutoff number. This may prove to be a bad thing for Lindgren, whom I am predicting will be non-tendered because of the estimated $600K arb figure.

Yes, I realize that’s pennies in the grand scheme of things. But when you figure the Braves are going to be squeezing out as much as they can from their budget this year, they’ll be counting every penny. It also doesn’t help him that the organization has so many arms in the upper levels vying for a roster spot.

hmmm, wouldn’t say the team feels a player or 2 away? I mean, we won the division…

Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the Braves’ need for some help atop the rotation and the means by which they could acquire said help, though he notes that recent comments by GM Alex Anthopoulos caution against the possibility of an expensive splash. “If there’s a deal that makes sense for us, and it’s a good asset to have, we’ll do it,” said Anthopoulos. “I think the one where you scratch and really push, and you want to call it overpay in years or dollars, you feel like that’s the one final piece. … I don’t think we’re there yet right now.” Atlanta does have plenty of intriguing arms in the upper minors, some of whom have already debuted in the Majors. It’s possible that a few prominent contributors could yet emerge from within or that those pieces could be packaged for some high-end, cost-controlled help. A free-agent splash for someone like Patrick Corbin, however, seems decidedly less likely.

Ber, my gut tells me that the Yankees are going to blow Patrick Corbin away with their offer, and Thoppy isn’t even going to enter that fray. And he shouldn’t. Truth is, the Braves are at least 3 players away from seriously contending. We MUST acquire a top starter. Not JA Happ or Lance Lynn, but a guy to slot in front of Folty, not behind. And we MUST acquire a power hitting OF… at minimum. (We really need power at 2 more spots, but you can’t do all the heavy lifting in just 1 year.) And we MUST acquire a bona fide closer. Viz ain’t it. I’m betting Viz isn’t even here when we break camp. But even if he is, he’s not the closer. We need that guy. You get the lock down closer, and all the other roles are easier to fill. Heck, we have most of that already. We just need that new Billy Wagner. Can AJ Minter be that guy? Well… the jury is still out. But even if he does have that potential, it just makes your bullpen stronger to get the established veteran to go with him.

Now, if we were just 1 player away and had everything else in place, then maybe you overpay for Corbin to get over that last hump. But that’s not where the Braves are. So you simply can’t overpay for any 1 player. And for top starting pitching, you’ll have to overpay in FA. Now that’s not to say you wont pay market value for an expensive player. I believe they’ve said that they will do that. But that’s typically accomplished via trade.

For the hitter, same story probably applies. Thoppy would have to overpay to get the real jewel, Bryce Harper, and that simply wont happen. So he’ll go out and explore the trade market again. As we’ve said before, we match up pretty favorably with SDP. Maybe MIL. There is a match to be made. That one will be easier than the starting pitcher.

As for the reliever, well… that guy might actually be had in FA. Craig Kimbrel, Jeurys Familia, Adam Ottavino and Joakim Soria are all interesting names. The market supply looks to be a little more abundant here, so an overpay isn’t necessarily a given. Also, Kelvin Herrera is coming off a foot injury. He might be had on a short term discount to re-establish his value. For a closer, I prefer shorter term deals. Their arms are just soooo fragile and history shows they often burn brightly but quickly.

Ber, my gut tells me that the Yankees are going to blow Patrick Corbin away with their offer, and Thoppy isn’t even going to enter that fray. And he shouldn’t. Truth is, the Braves are at least 3 players away from seriously contending. We MUST acquire a top starter. Not JA Happ or Lance Lynn, but a guy to slot in front of Folty, not behind. And we MUST acquire a power hitting OF… at minimum.

V, ok agree with needing a real #1 and a real power threat, …but…as for Patrick Corbin, why not? Got the moola, right? what are we at, 65-70 Mil? I was even thinking that perhaps he was being coy….who has a #1 that they are going to trade to us? How much does said future #1 make now?

Corbin is projected to command something like 5-6 years @ $20MM-$25MM per year depending on contract length. And if NYY really wants to up the ante, it could be 5 years at $25MM+ per year.

What we have to remember is that even though we might be able to handle slotting in $25MM into the 2019 payroll, at some point we’re gonna have to pay RAJ and Folty and Ozzie, etc. So it’s not even just a matter of 2019, but making sure that we can continue to maintain a manageable payroll down the road. It’s why trading for a guy with 2 or 3 years left on his deal is more desirable.

well, if you worry more about what guys will get in….3,4 years than getting the best guy…you will end up with another swell #2, 3 guy
here are the top win guys in the AL (I know, wins don’t matter) anyways…
you tell me who in the top 10-15 a team would trade, and that you would want on the braves?

Well, not trying to be contentious, but the best pitcher in baseball only eked out 10 wins because his team sucked, so there’s that. And if you’re pitching for the 2018 Red Sox, who earned a ML high 108 wins, it might be a little easier to get that “W”. Rick Porcello earned 17 wins this season, but he’s not 70% better than Jacob deGrom. He’s not even in the same class. But I do still hold to the old stats of ERA and WHIP. I feel those are quite useful in determining a pitcher’s effectiveness. Heck the bottom line is scoring runs, right? That’s what determines who actually wins the games. So if you limit that, you’re doing you’re job. And to break it down by inning, if you’re limiting the number of baserunners (WHIP = walks + hits per innings pitched), you’re also limiting the potential for runs to be scored, as well as limiting the “stressful” innings. So those are what I like to look at. I neither understand nor want to understand the new pitching “metrics”. Last I checked, nobody looked at the collective xFIP to see who won the game.

And understand I’m not worrying about paying the salary. I want them to pay for top talent. I just want them to pay for the right talent, and to do it in a way that won’t hamstring the team in another 5 years, ala the Giants.

So… looking at what truly top pitchers might be available for trade, based on way too much reading, you are probably talking about one of the Mets talented trio of deGrom, Noah Syndegaard and Zack Wheeler. But you can bet that the Mets will want a ton of top prospects to get any deal done there. We’ve already mentioned Madison Bumgarner, who probably will not be made available when all is said and done. Then you can skip over to ARI, where they are expected to go into a full rebuild after losing Patrick Corbin and AJ Pollock in FA. They could also decide to trade Robbie Ray, a former All-Star who isn’t a #1 but is more of a #2-3… or more likely dangle Zack Greinke. And that’s where it gets really interesting.

I’ve made no bones over my desire to hook up on MadBum, but it’s sounding more and more like the G-men are going to extend him there. So let’s look at Greinke. It’s a comparable talent, though older, but still dominant. At age 34, he still tossed 207.2 stellar innings with a tiny 1.079 WHIP (10th best in MLB) and a 3.21 ERA. But the contract… man it’s a monster. So here’s where you can get creative if you’re Thoppy. His contract still has 3 years left at a total commitment of $104.5MM remaining on salaries of $34.5MM, $35MM and $35MM respectively. If ARI really wants to start a rebuild, they will start with Greinke.

Would Thoppy even entertain such a high salary for one guy? First, no GM will want to take that commitment off their hands, so ARI is gonna have to make some compromises to facilitate a deal.

Here is a classic case of buying down the prospect return. The more salary that a GM is willing to assume, the lesser the prospect package ARI will be able to command in return. If we want to eat more $$, we can save a few young’uns. But if we want Greinke for 3 years at… say, the aforementioned $25MM per season that Corbin will command (and I’d take Greinke 10 times over Patrick Corbin), then we’ll pay the full prospect freight that it will take.

As for me, I’d prefer we pay the greater salary for the next 3 years, before we have to start rewarding our own talented youngsters, and save some of the prospect capital. And to put that $35MM in perspective, both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are expected to earn in the neighborhood of $40MM per season on their new deals. (Nice neighborhood…) And I’ve heard many crying for Thoppy to sign one of the 2 stars. Gimme the pitcher.

The truth is, a true “ace” is not found in every ML town, as much as we’d like to label a guy as such on every team. There are probably about 10 true “ace” type pitchers. They include deGrom, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Syndegaard, Chris Sale, Bumgarner, Corey Kluber, Justin Verlander, maybe Aaron Nola if he can repeat his 2018 performance… and Greinke. So if you have a chance to have one of those scarce commodities on your team, don’t you at least look at it?

Hey, I know it’s easy to spend other people’s money (just ask a Democrat… KIDDING). But we know that the money is going to be allocated somewhere. Might as well make it count.

Gil, believe me…I didn’t really have any vested interest in this game….but, I always want to see teams win one game in any series…and of course you see lots of shots of home fans just about to jump out of their skin, biting nails…you just felt the Red Sox offense couldn’t be held down every single inning…especially with walks leading off innings, errors, etc. and Max Muncy just missed a game winning homer in…I don’t know, 13th? 14th? figured when that didn’t happen, the game was over.
When the Red Sox got the lead around then…turned the sound off, figured game was over….but, it wasn’t.
I even rooted for manny big ears after the 15th (dope hit a ball off the wall and didn’t get past 1st somehow-well, home run thinking antics will slow you down-200-300 million dollar talent, 10 cent brain) I was worn out, and lost interest…but, the game didn’t end. Fans couldn’t hardly cheer anymore. never seen players look so tired…I thought the game might never end!

Good morning baseball fans… Okay, they did not score 20 runs but 15 is not that far off. The RedSox score 5 runs in the ninth to show everyone they can…

Seems to me, I have seen this movie before. Oh yeah, against the Braves…

And Dave Roberts again shows why it is a bit of idiocy to remove a pitcher in the 7th inning the opposing team has revealed they cannot score against. Did he not learn anything from the same move made by Gabe Kapler? I guess not, maybe Dave Roberts was saving Hill for game seven which is not going to happen… Anyone really think the Sox are going to lose 3 in a row?

So, baseball season should soon be over.

On a different note. Wow, has not Manny B.E. really exposed himself to be a jerk? A great baseball talent who I would rather not have on my favorite team. I’m fairly certain the Braves can win without him. I guess his antics were not so exposed in Baltimore where no one outside of the beltway paid any attention to him.

And congratulations to Vee’s Dawgs. I watched the game up to the point where Florida’s defense held them out of the end-zone 7 straight plays from the one yard line. After that, the Gators must have thought the Dawgs would roll over…Woof… Georgia won in a rout.

Can we get on with the business of hiring a pitching coach and of fortifying this young team? The 5-day “quiet period” should start today, right? That means we can talk to Anibal and Kakes and Zuk.

Unless he wants to take a swing spot, I expect Anibal to move on to a team in need of warm bodies. And I would be more than shocked to see Kakes brought back unless Thoppy has a rabbit up his sleeve for behind the plate. And on a similar note, my belief is that if A-Train wants to make a big “get” for the rotation, and wants to acquire a power bat for the OF, we might just see another year of Flowzuki under the mask.

The way I see it, we have 5 needs, perhaps in this order:
1- starting pitcher
2- OF
3- catcher
4- bullpen
5- bench

Working backwards, the bench and bullpen will likely be addressed via signings and perhaps trade add-ons. But those are areas that a GM is always addressing, both in the offseason and mid-season. Which leaves us with the other 3 “big” needs.

IMO, it will be very difficult to make a huge impact in all 3 areas in the same offseason unless you have the payroll of the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers or Cubs. And I know we have a supposed largess (FOB?) at our disposal this season. I’ll just be shocked if Thoppy goes all Yankee on us. IMO, he’ll get 2 of them done and work on #3 next offseason. So if he makes a big splash at pitcher and acquires a catcher, we could easily see Zuk back on a short term deal. Or if he goes hard after JTR, maybe Kakes returns on a short deal. I cannot in my mind see a scenario where he doesn’t acquire the pitching.

At any rate, it’s about time to light that stove. Anybody got a match?

Always remember that awards of all types are 1. popularity contest 2. are heavily weighted towards one’s batting stats even if it is for defense and 3. often given the year after they are deserved. Sort of like the make up call by an umpire… but I digress.

Because I did not see every player in the majors play this season, I can only comment on those I did see and what they did with the opportunities they had. IMO, Freddie Galvis was the best shortstop I saw this season. At least he was against the Braves.

Oh by the way, Congrats to the BOSOX, I said the Soxs in 6, they took it in 5. I did not account for Dave Roberts pulling Rich Hill while he was on a roll.

Yep, waiting for the first shoe to drop now that the season is over except for the big parade in bean town. I never expected the Astros to not repeat but we are seeing how hard it is even with a great team. All things being equal, the Red Sox earned it. They have a solid team.

The bruised Dodgers, who are facing some big questions of their own regarding the possible opt-out by Clayton Kershaw and the FA departure of Yasmani Grandal, might be looking at their own OF glut. They have their current starters Joc Pederson / Cody Bellinger / Yasiel Puig seemingly entrenched, but whither wunderkind and Top 2 prospect Alex Verdugo, who is ripe and ready for harvest? … not to mention the many rumors swirling about luring Bryce Harper out west?

Of course, that’s the same Dodgers from whom we pillaged A-Train, who knows their players quite well.

Could we pry away an OF from them? It wouldn’t shock me, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Joc Pederson batting behind Freddie, although his L/R splits are pretty dramatic. And oddly, the RH hitting Yasiel Puig hit RHs alot better than LHs himself. Weird.

At least the Dodgers, a storied franchise in their own right, are experiencing a bit of the same frustrations the Braves went through in their run of 14 NL East titles. With 30 teams, it is not so easy to win multiple WS titles as it once was with half that number in existence.

Celebrate success where ever you find it when ever you can, Ask the Yankees and the Astros, how can a 100 win season be called anything but a success? I’m pretty sure the Marlins fans would take it right now. So would anyone other than the Red Sox and it is not like they are winning every year.

I know these dates have already been shared, but here they are again today now that the stove is lit, courtesy of MLBTR:

Oct. 29: Commencement of a five-day, exclusive negotiation window that teams have with their own free agents
Oct. 31: Deadline for players with opt-out clauses (most notably, Clayton Kershaw) to exercise those provisions.
Nov. 3: The deadline for MLB clubs to formally issue one-year qualifying offers (valued at $17.9MM this offseason) to free agents is 5:00pm ET. Those players will have 10 days to weigh the offers and can negotiate with other clubs during that 10-day window. After that 5pm deadline, all free agents are eligible to begin negotiating with other teams.
Nov. 6-8: General Managers’ meetings in Carlsbad, CA
Nov. 13: Deadline for players to accept or reject qualifying offers.
Nov. 20: Deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
Nov. 30: Deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.
Dec. 9-13: Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
Dec. 13: Rule 5 draft takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings.
Jan. 11: Arbitration exchange day — the date on which teams and players must exchange filing numbers for arbitration. Hearings, if necessary, typically begin in early February.
March 28, 2019: Opening Day! Baseball is back.

I just read a blurb somewhere that noted that the Braves RF has been manned by locally grown players for over a dozen years. First Lilburn’s Parkview High School legend Jeff Francoeur (’05-’09), then Henry County High School product Jason Heyward (’10-’14), and then Woodstock High School and Young Harris College alum Nick Markakis (’15-’18).

This tells me that Thoppy must work out a deal with the Yankees for Loganville High School’s Clint Frazier.

Here’s an upcoming date that has not been addressed yet, and it is of immediate importance to the Braves… well, sort of.

Not only has the 5-day “quiet period” commenced, but another 5 day clock has started. Teams must add all their players on the 60-day DL back to the 40-man roster at the end of said 5 days.

For the Braves, that’s a whopping 9 players, being pitchers Mike Soroka, Luiz Gohara, Brandon McCarthy, Darren O’Day, Peter Moylan, Jose Ramirez, Jacob Lindgren, and Grant Dayton, along with OF Michael Reed. All must be added to the already full 40-man roster.

How to create 9 spots? Well, you really don’t need all 9. First, McCarthy is set to retire, and Moylan should follow. At worst, he’ll be seeking a minor league deal.

Uh, that’s 7 right there. So in essence, the “deadline” actually doesn’t affect us in the short term. Obviously space must be made at some point though. Spots must opened to protect possible Rule 5 losses – probably no more than 3 – and spots must be open for ML signings,as well as any trade acquisitions not offset by players going the other way.

I think it’s fair to say that Luke Jackson and Sam Freeman have probably pitched their last innings for ATL. The same could also be said for Jose Ramirez and Grant Dayton. I’m on the fence about Jacob Lindgren, but I’m leaning toward saying adios to him as well and trying to re-sign him to a minor league deal. I’m also on the fence about Adam Duvall. Man he looked awful in his half season in Atlanta. But we are in need of OF’s so maybe he sticks around until we find another one. But at that point, bye-bye Mr. Duvall. The same thoughts might apply to Lane Adams. At least he can run. I’m guessing at least 1 of those 2 are released. If pressed I’d bet on Adams first. He’s another guy that could probably be re-signed on a minor league deal.

Most of these decisions are made by the suits in their organizational meetings which have traditionally been held in mid-October down in the team’s headquarters in Lake Buena VIsta, FL. Of course, we were still playing baseball until 10/8, so there’s that. Plus, there is an entirely new leadership team in place, so they don’t necessarily hold to the traditional tenets. To date, there has been no mention of formal organizational meetings. And they may simply hold them in their primo digs at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park.

Anyway, we can probably expect to hear an avalanche of news of releases all over MLB, including our own beloved Braves, in the next few days.

I do believe Thoppy will check in on Clint Frazier. It seems natural. The Yankees will be seeking pitching, and the Braves will be peddling pitching. Of course, they would have to agree on a match. Can that happen?

Here’s what I believe would have to happen…

They will, of course, ask for the best of our prospects and someone who is ready to step in now. Y’all know the name I’m going to throw out… Touki Toussaint. We might as well get used to the fact that he’s the guy that will get the most “asks” this offseason. He’s young, he’s ready, and he has a few successful ML games under his belt. And if we want an OF that has the same traits, Julio Teheran or Kolby Allard ain’t gonna fetch him.

But I don’t see a straight up deal player for player. There will be other facets. The Yankees don’t have to move Frazier. In fact, given that they will probably let Brett Gardner walk, given that they aren’t expected to re-sign Andrew McCutchen, and given that Stanton is mostly a DH now, they can use Frazier in their own OF.

So how do we motivate them? Would we take a salary dump to grease the skids? The obvious candidate there would be P Sonny Gray, who has 1 year left at $9M and was a big disappointment for them in 2018. But Sonny Gray was quite good for the A’s before moving to the Bronx, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, the Braves were interested in him just a year or so ago. And $9M is not premier money anymore. (I can’t believe I just typed that last statement.) He does not fill the “top of the rotation starter” need, but a change of scenery from NY might just push him back to his OAK form, which was really good.

So who else would we include to bring back Frazier and Gray?

Their biggest needs are pitching and possibly SS. Didi Gregorius just underwent TJ surgery and his availability for 2019 is up in the air. They might ask for Johan Camargo to fill the gap. That would also serve to open up the 3B job for Austin Riley, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

What we need to get used to is that we cannot hold onto all of our young gems and expect to get quality back in any deal. We’re gonna have to bite our lip and let give up some of the players we really like.

So I can see the Yankees asking for Touki and Johan for Frazier and Gray as a starting point, but possibly moving to other names in negotiations. Maybe it moves from Touki and Johan to Newk and Johan. At that point, we may just have something to chew on.

I personally don’t want Gray. It’s nothing personal, but he would essentially give us another Julio, and we need to trade away the one we have. But if we were to let Newk go from our current rotation, having Julio or Gray around might not be a bad thing.

So Newk and Johan for Frazier and Gray? There would likely need to be some other lesser players tossed in to equalize everything. Is this realistic? Probably not. But what else am I supposed to do on Day 2 of the “quiet period” but speculate?

It is being widely reported that the Marlins asked for Mike Soroka and Austin Riley in their JT Realmuto trade talks with the Braves last year. That’s a hefty price to pay, but not terribly unrealistic for the guy considered to be the best catcher in baseball, and who’s just 28 years old.

Of course, now there are only 2 full seasons of contractual control left as opposed to 2 1/2. Will the ask still be the same? I expect it will.

Not sure how I feel about that. JTR is a special player at a position that’s tough to fill. If I felt more assured of being able to extend him past 2 years, I might say it’s worth it, although I still feel Soroka is as close to untouchable as it gets. It is a positive that JTR is NOT represented by Scott Boras, making it at least possible to negotiate an extension.

Man… Soroka and Riley. That’s tough. I don’t think I want to face Mike Soroka in my own division multiple times a year. And I’m just not certain I want to trade a pitcher with such a high ceiling. It smacks a bit of Adam Wainright.

Speaking of untouchable pitchers, I won’t let Ian Anderson go either. Untouchable. Possibly our #1 prospect if you don’t count Mike Soroka, and maybe still #1 do count him considering his shoulder issue. The minor league section of SB Nation recently ranked the Braves’ top prospects and gave Anderson the nod. It should come as no surprise that their top 5 ranked prospects are all pitchers, being Anderson, Soroka, Touki, Kyle Wright and Kolby Allard. (IMO, Wright is another untouchable. He may never rise to a #1 starter, but he’ll be no less than a #3.)

Anyway, back to the subject of Anderson. We are all more aware of guys like Soroka, Touki and Allard because we’ve seen them. But we haven’t seen Anderson. This is the latest prospect report:

Ian Anderson, RHP, Grade A-:Age 20, first round pick from high school in New York in 2016, posted 2.49 ERA in 119 innings between High-A and Double-A, with 142/49 K/BB, only 87 hits and two homers allowed all year; plus fastball, curveball and change-up have all developed nicely, throws strikes, no deterioration in performance after being promoted; in my opinion he has the best combination of upside and polish of all the Braves pitching prospects; ETA late 2019.

That’s almost the exact same scouting report that the aforementioned Adam Wainright received back in 2003.

He’s untouchable to me, along with Soroka. I’m listening on everyone else. Caveat: If they want to talk about Austin Riley, they better be offering something extra special.

So we know that A-Train has a plan to begin executing on Friday, right? He’s such an organized dude that he has to have a plan… probably several. Plan A, Plan B, etc.

So what does that plan look like? Is it a measured plan that falls like dominoes depending on the success or failure of successive steps? Is it multi-faceted with his lieutenants executing steps alongside him? Are the various items in the plan affected by the others, or are they all independent unto themselves?

We’ll get to see the real AA this offseason, and I have a feeling that he will get out of the gate quickly. Call it a gut feeling. (In reality, I could just be experiencing indigestion. I have a “quirky GI” according to my doc.)

So Newk and Johan for Frazier and Gray?
V, that and Touki are interesting ideas…I just don’t know. It’s basically trading 2 younger, cheaper proven guys(if it’s Sean) for 1 young unproven guy, and one starter that failed in NY (after doing just fine for part of the previous season, go figure!) with fewer years of control, which seems to be more important than anything to some GM types.
But, what outfielders are there like Clint that the braves can go after?
As for Stanton, pretty sure he had some leg issue that made him the DH for much of the 2nd half of the season. He will only be 29 come Nov, so I am sure he will be in the outfield. With the Judge, and Aaron Hicks, that’s 3 regulars. Of course, like you said they sure don’t have to trade Clint, but they want to do better than winning a mere….100 games, right?
I just don’t know…it’s no cake walk being a GM

The Yankees baseball operations and scouting departments are “lukewarm” on free agent Manny Machado, per Andy Martino of SNY.tv. Brian Cashman has not been shy about his pursuit of Machado in the past, but the third-baseman-turned-shortstop’s antics during this postseason may have slowed what otherwise could have been a more aggressive pursuit of the infielder in free agency. This isn’t to say the Yankees won’t end up signing Machado, but the questioning of Machado’s hustle and baseball ethic certainly allow the Yankees, as well as other teams, to take a more understandably patient approach in regards to his free agency. Martino adds (via Twitter) that the biggest variable still in play is the Steinbrenner family and whether or not Boston’s World Series win will prompt an aggressive mandate in regards to either Machado or fellow free agent stud Bryce Harper.

Could be a bargaining ploy by Cashman or might be the truth. At least I know we were not the only ones who noticed Manny being Manny…. For sure, he hurt his brand as well as his final contract price by his antics.

What is the old saw? Someone is always watching…

Yes, trades are tough especially after your PR department has invested so much time and energy hyping a player making us want them on the team. Now, be honest, how many people would have made a trade for Juan Soto last year before he made his appearance in the bigs for the Nats? Who outside of the Nationals even knew about him?

It goes to show you that you never really know how good a prospect is going to be until they get here. Yes, he made some base running errors and he threw to the wrong base a time or two, Those are rookie mistakes usually learned in the minors but at 19, he did not really get a lot of OJT in the bushes.

If Thoppy were to address the teams most glaring needs by trading for SP Marcus Stroman and RP Craig Stammen, and signing FA’S C Yasmani Grandal and OF Andrew McCutchen, how would you feel about 2019? Would that be enough, or would it just be lukewarm?

I think those are all realistic possibilities… much more realistic than Patrick Corbin, Craig Kimbrel, JT Realmuto and Clint Frazier.

MLBTR: In an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today, agent Jeff Berry of CAA Baseball told host Scott Braun that (JT) Realmuto “has informed the Marlins’ ownership, he’s informed their front office he’s not going to sign an extension in Miami.” Berry also indicated that he thinks Realmuto “will definitely be wearing a different uniform” by Spring Training 2019.

Still cannot believe that Thoppy will pay the exorbitant price tag it’ll take to swing the deal. And we should also think that Miami will be as reluctant to trade JTR within their own division as the Braves would be with some of their star prospects.

Perhaps, though, the greater reality that JTR will be available on the trade market might help other teams (ahem… the Braves) in their pursuit of the top FA catchers – Grandal or Ramos – as big players like the Nats and BoSox might wait on a trade.

One would think the Astros will also play into the catching market as it’s widely believed they’ll decline their 2019 team option on Brian McCann.

Which brings up an interesting scenario…

Yes, BMac is on the downside of a great career. But if you could bring him in on a smallish make-good deal, laced with incentives, to split time in a true LH/RH platoon with TFLow, would that make anybody’s socks go up and down?

As much as I like McCutchen as a person, I don’t feel he is any sort of upgrade over what the Braves currently have. Same goes for Yaz.

I believe the Phillies are going to go all in on Manny B.E.

If the roster remained the same in 2019 as it was in 2018, I don’t see the Braves making the post season. The Nats will not underachieve next season and every other team in the NL East will be better next season.

Maybe Adam Duval gets his head out of his butt and remembers how to hit during the off season, problem solved.

Prior to 2018 when Stroman sealt with the afrementioned injury, he was a horse… delivering 200+ innings in 2016 & 2017 and finishing 8th in the AL Cy Young voting in 2017. The dude is just 27 and a tremendous “buy low” opportunity. Is he the proverbial “ace”? Nope. But unless you want to back up the farm truck to ARI and dump all our top prospects to get Zack Greinke, you aren’t getting an ace anyway.

All that said, I was using general examples more than specifics. And it’s unlikely that TOR would trade him anyway since the sent JA Happ away. They need experienced pitching more than young’uns.

But the point remains. I am doubting that Thoppy will come back to SunTrust Park with 4 “home runs”. It’s more likely that he hits a couple of doubles, a single, and maybe 1 triple or HR.

So what is realistic? Not making any predictions, just saying what I believe to be the level we might expect.

Catcher: I think Yasmani Grandal is realistic, but he was statistically the 2nd best catcher in MLB last season (post-season excluded), so he’ll command some coin. His .240 AVG doesn’t look so pretty, but his .341 OBP makes up for it. He gets on base, but even better, he hits long dingers. He has averaged 22 HRs and 60 RBIs per season for the Dodgers since he joined them in 2015. And he’s a very good defensive catcher, as we saw when we tried to run on him in the NLDS. The problem here is that the price tag might be driven up too high if too many teams get involved.

Reliever: Closers still get top dollar even though their game value is beginning to give way to the 7th inning “setup” guys. And that’s what I think Thoppy may target. Maybe a guy like SDP’s Craig Stammen. You simply get more bang for the buck out of these guys. Truth is, we have several of those in house, so as much as we have said the bullpen must be addresed, that may come from within.

Starting pitcher: I have no idea. I don’t think A-Train will pay the going rates in FA, and there aren’t many worth acquiring after Kershaw (who will most likely re-sign with LAD) and Corbin anyway. Who else? Nathan Eovaldi is the new hot name, but the $$ value isn’t there. JA Happ? He’s 36. It’s just not there to line up for the Braves. We’re gonna have to trade for this guy, and I have no idea where AA will find that hidden gem. All I know is that he will NOT overpay.

Power bat OF: Don’t expect AJ Pollock. He will get premium $$ from a team in need a premium position at CF, and the Braves don’t need that. They will get better value here off the trade market, and as we’ve discussed, the Padres make the most sense. In fact, I could see a multi-player deal that includes a guy like Hunter Renfroe and the aforementioned Craig Stammen. But be ready to let go of some players you love, or expect to love. That’s just how it has to be.

And just for grins and giggles, let’s compare some numbers. And note: WAR is for comparison purposes only. It doesn’t take into account any intangibles at all.

As I sit here in day 3 of the “quiet period”, which is so quiet it’s deafening, this is what my crystal ball sees… today. Tomorrow may be different…

AA goes to FA to address catcher and OF, and signs his 1 big ticket item in Yasmani Grandal, and brings Andrew McCutchen on board. Cutch gets the nod over Kakes simply by virtue of being 3 years younger. Other than that, they are very comparable.

For the bullpen, we must remember that we will have a healthy Darren O’Day coming back, not to mention a young starter or 2 that will have no room in the rotation. We can’t stash them all in AAA, and they would have great value as relievers anyway. Touki and Max Fried fall into that category. Luiz Gohara, might, but I think he’ll be back at AAA to build his trade value back.

If Biddle and Winkc continue their development track, and Chad Sobotka can repeat his late 2018 performance, we may be quite set already. I can see the bullpen being Biddle, Wink, Shane Carle, Jonny Venters, O’Day, Touki, Fried and AJ Minter as closer. That’s not too shabby already.

And finally… starting pitcher.

IMO, Thoppy’s #1 priority this offseason is to bring home a top-of-the order pitcher to lead this young staff. We’ve already dispelled the notion of an “ace”, as they just aren’t in ready supply. But somewhere out there is a pitcher ready to take a step up and lead. I think AA pulls a rabbit out of his Braves cap and brings home someone we’ve not yet identified.

One more thing and I’ll relinquish my morning stranglehold on the ol’ B&S…

We’ve talked at great length about starting and relief pitching. We’ve kicked around alot of potential OF’s. But this team’s most glaring weakness down the stretch, and especially in the NLDS, was the lack of quality on the bench. How Thoppy addresses that may hold the key to our potential success in 2019.

I can guarantee you we won’t go into any meaningful stretch with Lane Adams, Ryan Flaherty and Rio Ruiz as our bench options.

WAR confuses the heck out of me.
Renfroe 117 games, .248/302/504 Slugging 26 Hr 68 RBI’s =2.4
Markakis: 162 games, .297/.366/.440, 14 HR, 93 RBI 2.6 WAR
and V, I KNOW you are not some huge fan, just something to show comparisons of players
Everything I bolded though…Nick M was clearly better than Renfroe
So, games played don’t batter BA and OBP don’t matter, and of course RBI’s don’t matter? It’s the closeness I don’t get

Oh how we could all make much moolah if we only had a magic crystal ball which foretold of the point where any given player would reach their peak and when their output would decline to their nadir.

I believe Thoppy is struggling with that conundrum when it comes to Nick Markakis. Will his 2019 numbers reflect what he produced pre All-star or post All-star when is began running out of gas. Perhaps a season when he played in 130 games as opposed to 162 would keep him fresh for an entire season.

Having a “good” fourth outfielder who allow for less of a drop off would be the answer. I do not envision Markis as a pro-typical clean up hitter. While he can run into one on occasion, he does not really strike fear into the heart of opposing pitchers who don’t really mind giving up a walk to Freddie and have Nick slap a single. Runners on 1st and 3rd or 1st and 2nd are not a huge threat unless you have a proven RBI guy in the 5 hole.

Now, as much as we have heard about Austin Riely’s power, you don’t put a rookie in the clean up spot. There are just too many reason as to why that never really works out. Nick Markakis is the guy you turn to when you need a professional at-bat but at what point does he become this year’s version of Jason Werth?

Okay, that’s why AA gets the big bucks, keep piling up those atta boys while praying you don’t have any aw s**ts too allow your dis-tractors ammunition to throw up in your face 5 years down the road.

Renfroe is an interesting guy, was a top prospect, but will be 27 in Jan. Check out his first half. 7 Hr’s 25 RBI’s .241/.314 OBP in 174 ABs
2nd half, 19 Hr’s 48 RBI’s .251.282 OBP (guess being patient didn’t work for him!)
He hit 9 HRs in August and 9 Sept (with only 14 rbis, was he leading off?)

LOL. Hey, say what you will but the Red Sox are a great example of what can be done when you have lots of money and you know how to use it. In the end, it still comes down to having great players all producing at the same time. Give them their due, they won it fair and square.

say what you will but the Red Sox are a great example of what can be done when you have lots of money and you know how to use it.

But it still goes back to having the money. For 2018, the BoSox led all of baseball with a payroll of $228,398,860. They were #2 in 2017 with $209,872,508, and #3 in 2016 with $207,758,836.

So when you have twice the payroll of, say… the Braves, you can afford not just one “ace” in Chris Sale, but 2 with David Price. And you can afford baseball’s best closer in Craig Kimbrel. And you can go out and sign 2018’s premier free agent in JD Martinez to a 5 yr/$109.95M deal to go along with the ridiculous amounts Sale, Price and Kimbrel are making, and have him hit 43 HRs while leading the league in both RBI (130) and Total Bases (358).

You can afford all of those Ferraris while the other guys are driving Toyotas and Fords.

And you can have guys like World Series MVP Steve Pearce as a platoon or bench player. And you can keep Jackie Bradley, Jr. on the bench. In fact, just about your whole bench would be starting on many other teams.

That’s not to sound envious. I believe in the free market and I think a team should be able to do whatever is able to do as allowed within the rules. But it does illustrate the lack of level playing fields for teams like BOS, LAD, CHC, NYY, etc. When the contract predictions for the game’s best Free Agents year after year start with phrases like “only Team X and Team Y have the payroll” or “Team Z cannot get into the bidding”, there is a problem.

And that’s why I cannot get excited about a World Series that features the games top 2 payrolls, won by the highest one. I expect a Ferrari to outrun a Subaru. It just doesn’t inspire me.

a few years ago, all the experts were saying teams didn’t need to have the highest payrolls to win, well…perhaps for a few years, but teams that are smaller markets have less time to compete before they are back to the middle of the pack (or worse, ala the Royals) Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox (though they were helped by a few bomb seasons to get the #1, #2 pics) always seem to be in the hunt…

Well, it is a pretty easy fix, it is called a salary cap. Nope, it’s not going to happen but that is how you fix the problem. However, no matter what rule you put into place, there will always be someone trying to beat the system.

Take college football, do the best athletes all want to play for Alabama because of Bama’s stellar reputation for academics? Nope, it is the promise of being seen by more pro scouts and a chance at a pro career.

Let’s be honest, during the Braves heyday, they too were among the big spenders.

Let’s be honest, during the Braves heyday, they too were among the big spenders.

Exactly. And as I said, I do not begrudge any team working within the established rules in whatever manner they choose to. I just believe that the Braves could just as easily win 100+ games and a title if they bought and paid for Clayton Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel, Bryce Harper and Patrick Corbin this offseason.

Mark Bowman on a radio interview: An acquisition of JT Realmuto “would be the most influential move on the rest of the offseason”.

His logic? JTR is in his last year of arb and projected to make around $6.1M. That’s such a bargain when compared to the estimated $15M per year Grandal will get. Making that impact move while still leaving alot of flexibility in the payroll would allow the team to make a second similar impact move, specifically in starting pitching.

These are the intangibles that might make such a trade worth the prospect price.

Is one single player worth that high price? If that player suffered an injury that would keep him from playing for a long stretch of time, what would be the impact on the team with all those others having been traded away?
I’ve always believed in living within my means. ‘Course my means isn’t even pocket change to teams and their ownership.

This kid is all or nothing. It’s the story of his 5 year professional career… which is why the 22 year old just finished his third straight year at high-A. At this rate, he might reach the majors by the time Freddie retires. 😀

Last year in Florida, he struck out a frightening 213 times against just 71 hits. Of course, 20 of those hits were HRs; another 19 were doubles. Yowser!

So we begin the day at 35 on the 40-man roster. So while that seems to give us some flexibility for making signings, we have to earmark a couple of those to protect a few players from the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 13 at the end of the Winter Meetings.

By definition, players are eligible if they are not on their major league organization’s 40-man roster and were 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fifth Rule 5 draft upcoming; or were 19 or older on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft upcoming.

For the Braves, those players are P’s Huascar Ynoa and Patrick Weigel, along with IF/OF Travis Demeritte and C Alex Jackson. Ynoa & Weigel will likely be protected. Jackson & Demeritte probably won’t be since they would have to spend the full upcoming season on the active roster. Neither of those guys are ready. Ynoa probably isn’t either, but a creative AL team could figure out a way to stash him. At any rate, the Braves will almost surely add those Ynoa & Weigel the 40-man roster.

The deadline to add those guys to the 40-man roster to protect them is sometime in late November, around the 20th, but I’m not 100% certain on that. At any rate, the Braves probably won’t make those decisions until closer to that deadline to maintain flexibility.

So the immediate concern is that we do have room to make some key additions when the real silly season opens tomorrow.

Mark Bowman on a radio interview: An acquisition of JT Realmuto “would be the most influential move on the rest of the offseason”

once again, the voice of doom (or negativity speaks)
J.T.s numbers the last 3 years (and remember, the team had a ton of offense til last season with 3 all star caliber outfielders, and Gordon at 2nd)
HR’s 11, 17, 21.
RBI’s 48, 65, 71. and all were full seasons.
Yes, he’s entering his prime years, but he’s not Johnny Bench, or Ted Simmons…I mean, Brian McCann was allowed to leave at 29 with similar numbers…
How is he going to be the most influential move? Just because of moola? Then you give the Marlins 2 top flight starters, and an above average position player?
Heck re-sign Zuk, and you probably have been overall offensive numbers from atl catchers yet again.

Remember one thing about Realmuto, NO PROTECTION… It is the nature of the beast I am afraid. If you want to drive a Mercedes, you have to be willing to pay for it, otherwise, get a Ford… Come to think of it, there are some pretty pricey Fords out there too, but I digress… 🙂

To clarify on Gardner, the Yanks declined his $12.5M option, but re-signed him at a lesser $7.5M deal. (I’ll take that pay cut! Please!)

It’s surprising to me because he’s 35 and just finished his worst season slashing a pedestrian .236/.322/.368 and losing playing time to their other (better) OF’s. And the Yanks will still return Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and a healthy Jacoby Ellsbury. That doesn’t even take into account Clint Frazier.

That tells me that they will probably keep Gardner as the 4th OF, with Stanton primarily DH’ing and Ellsbury/Hicks/Judge getting the lion’s share of OF time.

V, I am just guessing here, but Brett Gardner has been with the Yankees since 2008…perhaps they are not so sure about Jacoby being healthy after missing all of 2018. Really the same player, except I think Brett has more power….

I think you’re right that it’s part loyalty and part a hedge against Ellsbury’s health. They are fairly similar players. Gardner has more speed and thus great value on the bench as a baserunner. Not sure they would need both on the same roster, especially if they can land Harper.

Rafael Lopez came up in the Chicago Cubs’ system after they selected him in the 16th round of the 2011 draft. For his career, Lopez has hit .184/.270/.322 across 76 games in the big leagues. He has spent time with the Cubs, Angels, Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres organizations, getting some major-league roster time in each of the last three seasons with the Reds, Blue Jays, and Padres, respectively.

For the Padres, this move is likely motivated by a desire to clear a roster spot. They are facing a roster crunch ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft, so moving Lopez is the first of what could be many moves to shake up their 40-man roster.

For the Braves, it cost them virtually nothing. And if they need that 40-man spot for something else, he’ll be waived. It’s that simple.

So I haven’t looked at my crystal ball today until a few minutes ago. Not sure if my crystal ball reads Twitter or watched the headlines or anything, but it does seem to change from time to time, especially as the news changes.

Like for instance, today my crystal ball says that the Braves do NOT sign Yasmani Grandal in FA. But, my crystal ball does see a big FA signing.

It also sees a theme… reunion.

Today, the ol’ crystal ball sees the Braves bring home both Craig Kimbrel and Brian McCann. For Kimbrel, he signs a big 4-5 year deal to settle our closer situation once and for all. Mac signs a short 1 year “pillow” deal with a 2nd year option to share the catching duties with TFlow in a fairly traditional LH/RH platoon, saving his knees from the rigors of a heavy workload and proving his still got something left in the tank.

The OF and starting pitching visions are a little murkier. Can’t really read it right now. But I do think the Braves will package some of their young pitching in a deal for a veteran starter. Just can’t make out who it is.

And it’s really murky with RF. In fact, I can’t even tell if that’s RF or 3B. Oooohh… spooky…

Hmmm… hearing more Zack Greinke chatter today. Wondering if ARI would take Julio and his smallish contract ($11.2M in 2019, $12M option for 2020) to help offset Greinke’s $34M, $34M and $35M remaining over ’19-’21. Perhaps Julio + Bryce Wilson + lesser prospect for Greinke and the full freight. Am I crazy here?

TBH, I think they’d be happy going forward in the same arrangement as the last couple of years with Flowzuki. Their time-share has done wonders for both of them, and as a tandem they’ve been as good as most catchers in the game… except for throwing out would-be base stealers. Neither of them can stop the running game.

Anyway, I think Zuk has earned himself a 2-3 year deal somewhere else, and he knows it. So do the Braves. It’d be really surprising if he’d come back here on a 1 year deal. Still, if he were to accept that, I think the Braves would feel comfortable going forward with it for 2019.

Instead, Mac might fit that slot, and fit it even better being a LH hitter.

Yeah, for the right price so would I. He would be great for our pitchers and fill the leadership void left by Kakes’ departure. Plus, he has World Series experience and a ring. Cannot undersell that to a young club.

The silly season officially opens today. Well, the Nats did ink Trevor Rosenthal earlier this week, but he wasn’t subject to the 5 “day quiet” period as he wasn’t on any team roster. And that was actually a signing of some note. But aside from that, the frontier opens today. Who will make the first impact signing? Which of the upper tier FA’s will set the tone for the rest? Will the FA market move as slowly as it did last year?

I expect Bryce and Manny to be wooed heavily and to take a little time to allow that process to happen. But I don’t expect either to linger too long on the market. The same might be said to a lesser degree for Patrick Corbin… and maybe Nathan Eovaldi. But I’m not expecting any sort of feeding frenzy. I’m betting that there won’t be a wholesale movement of players until closer to the Winter meetings in mid-December.

Slow movement does not equal no movement as we cannot always see the waters being churned beneath the surface. I’m sure the phones have been busy in the Marlins front office as they field inquires on their prized pig.

Cannot say that I blame them. A case in point to me is unless Sean Newcome becomes an ace, the trade of Simba to the Angles will always be viewed as a very one sided deal to me.

Same goes for the Mark Texeria trade.

I know it is tough being patient in the current environment of I want it all and I want it all and I want someone else to pay for it. Perhaps the toughest call is when to believe your own hype about your prospects and when to cut bait.

As spectacular as all the young prospects in the Braves system were in the late 80s, most were traded away and never really lived up to the high expectations assigned to them. The Braves only kept a couple of them, Chipper and Javy but boy, did they ride them a long way.

The riskiest venture to me are pitchers. So much is riding on some very fragile body parts. The change in pitching philosophies from throwing 80% and going deep into games to throwing as hard as you can for as long as you can and we will bring in fresh arms in the 5th inning has made everyone value the radar gun way to much and to me will shorten many promising careers way too early.

A case in point to me is unless Sean Newcome becomes an ace, the trade of Simba to the Angles will always be viewed as a very one sided deal to me.

Braves got back Newcomb, Erick Aybar, and also prospect P Chris Ellis. Ellis was subsequently sent to STL in the Jaime Garcia deal. When Garcia was sent to Minnie, we received prospect Huascar Ynoa, who is a talented RHP and currently the Braves #20 prospect. Having spent last year between low-A and high-A, the 20-year-old Ynoa still has more development ahead, but his “stuff” is solid and he projects to be a ML starter maybe as early as 2021.

It’s also possible he could be included in a deal (Greinke? JTR?) as a secondary piece along with a top prospect.

I say all that to say this…

The Simmons trade cannot be simply looked at as Simba/Newk. There were too many other moving parts, including clearing Simba’s 7 yrs/$58M contract from the books.

I will also posit that employing the game’s most elite defender at the aforementioned salary during a complete teardown/rebuild is a luxury, much like having the game’s best closer. And while these are not a pleasant thoughts, they are reality. The real hard truth is that Simba’s presence would have possibly added 3-4 more wins to a last place team. That would not have gained any traction toward the playoffs, but would have moved us farther from the highest draft picks. Just sayin’.

As for Realmuto, the more I see him, the more I believe him to be a Mike Piatzza hitting talent who is actually good defensive catcher as well. A pretty rare commodity. I know he won’t come cheap to any team pursuing him nor should he be. Austin Riely would fit well with the Marlins to replace the aging Marteen Prado. A front line starter like Soroka would also be on the Marlins wish list. (His shoulder injury would be a red flag for most by the way) and possible a Julio and another lower level but highly regarded prospect or two thrown in. To be sure, the Marlins are doing their due diligence in making sure they get the best return possible because once he is gone, he is gone.

The other consideration would have to be for any team trading for Realmuto as to how much they would have to ante up to keep him on the team once he reaches free agency in two years. It won’t be cheap and I would hate to see the Braves trade away good long term talent for a guy who is essentially a temp.

This is where the Braves being penalized so severely for Coppy’s transgressions really hurt. Not just the prospects lost but the inability to sign premium international talent.

Gil, that is sorta the way I was thinking. How much of your assets do you give away for someone who is most likely going to be around for a relatively short length of time? How long before NY or one of the big dawgs strolls by and offers him an offer he can’t refuse? Then what?
I really need a crystal ball! Anybody seen one on ebay or somewhere?? Do they give senior discounts?

For instance, today my crystal ball seems to be showing me someone in a Rangers uniform. Hard to make it out… but it could be Joey Gallo. Or is that Nomar Mazara? At any rate, they need starting pitching so badly that they just picked up Drew Smyly from the Cubs, who didn’t even pitch in 2018 while recovering from TJ, and have him penciled in as their #2 starter. They aren’t necessarily in a money crunch, so acquiring Julio Teheran for them would be a boon. Since we can spare him, and need an OF to hit long balls, I think we can find some common ground.

And wouldn’t either of those guys look good as our cleanup hitter?

Mazara is a 23-year-old LH hitter who hit .258/.317/.436, 20 HR, 77 RBI in 2018, and is just in his first arb eligible year. Gallo is 24, plays all 3 OF positions as well as 3B and 1B, and hits very long balls. In 2018, he hit just .206/.312/.498, but 40 HR, 92 RBI. And he isn’t arb eligible until next year.

I think either would help our power and run production as well as giving Freddie a little lineup protection.

Anyway, I’m seeing something more like David Robertson. He may not get you through the 9th, but he’ll get you to the 9th. And at times last year, that was more of a problem for our boys than slamming the door.

SB Nation says this of Robertson: You can pay for saves with a pitcher like Jeurys Familia, or you can get the setup-man’s discount with a guy like Robertson, who is probably the same pitcher he was when he was a closer making closer money. Robertson is turning 34 this year, so he’s not a great candidate for a long-term deal, but for two or three years, he’s a solid gamble for a win-now team.

I like that. A “solid gamble”. I personally think AJ is ready to take the 9th inning role anyway.

And the QO this year is what… $17M+, right? Grandal really should just take it. He can get more years somewhere else, but not at that annual rate. And he’ll enter the FA market again next year in a very light year for catchers.

Faced with market constraints, the Indians will listen to trade offers for some of their veteran players this winter, according to sources. Kluber, Carrasco, Encarnacion, Gomes, etc. Lindor, Ramirez will definitely be held.

If the Indians make Kluber available, then Thoppy needs to drop everything else andget all over this. Kluber is an “ace”. One of the few. He does everything you want… has gone 200+ innings for the last 5 years, at age 32 just went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA and a microscopic 0.991 WHIP.

He plays next season at $17M, with a team option in 2020 for $17.5M and a team option in 2021 for $18M.

Terrible news. The Reds announced that three of their minor leaguers were involved in a fatal car accident in the Dominican Republic this morning. RHP Jairo Capellan was killed. RHP Raul Hernandez is in critical condition. OF Emilio Garcia is in stable condition. All 19 years old

Good morning Stuffville… Good news on the Gold Glove front, Freddie wins his 1st, Ender his 3rd in a row and Nick his 3rd over all beating out Heyward. I’m pretty sure Nick’s agent should be able to parlay that stat into a couple of extra millions when he signs a contract to play in Philly next season.

Freddie’s GG win was a tie (4th in GG history) with Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo. It is the first time an Atlanta 1st baseman has won a gold glove. I did not know that… I also thought Andres Galaraga should have won one but that is just me.

No argument there Vee, we all agree the Braves need to add a power bat, whether it’s in the outfield, third base or behind the plate makes little difference to me. The thing about Realmuto is he not only improves the offence but also the defense. A rare combination which make JTR a pricey get for the team which snags him.

The only downside is as a catcher, his bat is not available on an everyday basis like a position player would be.

As for improving the Braves other needs, I don’t think adding bench strength should be as difficult as acquiring an ace pitcher.

So, where does Coppy go to dump some of his prospect capital, Miami or Cleveland? After all, even an ace cannot be played more than once every 5 days.

I’m a little conflicted this morning. (The crystal ball isn’t awake yet.) I know that you can only cash in those best prospects on one top talent. Do I want a top starter, or the best catcher in baseball?

I look for the Braves to add Austin Riely to their roster at some point next season if he is not included in a trade package. He is on the cusp of making it to the Show.

No matter what we think or the Braves brain trust thinks, The cost of doing business is still going up. Both Machado and Harper will command Stanton money which precludes all but the biggest market clubs from shopping in that aisle.

Machado is a great third baseman but as a shortstop, not so much which is why I don’t see him staying in LA.

As good as he is, he did not get Baltimore into the play-offs. One player only makes a difference when you are only one player away. Harper did not win a NL pennant in DC. The Nationals have had a very strong team the past several years but it has not been enough to get them to the promised land.

The real deal or just another of his tease stunts? He’s certainly on a hot streak in the ‘Zona.

BTW, PACHE has been dazzling in the field, and a surprise to me, steady at the plate. Maybe the kid’s developing a hitter’s eye sooner than I anticipated. Even if he only becomes a solid singles hitter with little power, that would certainly put him in ATLANTA by 2020.

Davidson is a first baseman who has not yet played above High A, while I expect he will be promoted to AA Mississippi next year, I would not foresee him reaching Atlanta before 2020. Unless the Braves are planning on him starting in the outfield, I don’t see him making the big club before then. He is not moving Freddie off of first.

Unless the Braves are planning on him starting in the outfield, I don’t see him making the big club before then. He is not moving Freddie off of first.

When they drafted Davidson, they immediately moved him to OF because they had just given Freddie his 8-year deal. But Davidson was horrendous in the OF… worse than Matt Adams. So they moved him back to 1B, but his bat never really came around. He might be hitting HR”s in ARZ, but he won’t ever do much else. He strikes out way too much to ever be on a ML roster. And that’s saying something in this era. That’s why he hasn’t progressed past single-A ball in 5 years.

So, 2019’s ROY will be Vlad Jr of the Blue Jays. I don’t see how they keep his bat in the minors much longer. It may not be before the Jay’s can make sure they get an extra year of control over him but he will be in Toronto before the final vestiges of their last snow melts.

Well, here is another speculative post… because there really is nothing else to discuss on this cool and damp Monday morning.

For a minute, let’s consider what was mentioned last week about a trade for JTR setting the wheels in motion for the rest of the offseason.

It has been mentioned everywhere that the Braves will have anywhere from $45M to $60M to add to payroll this offseason, depending on whom you believe. Knowing that Thoppy wants to hold back some $$ for mid-season acquisitions, let’s work with the low side $45M and take a measured, step by step approach to a possible outcome.

IF… the Braves were to pull off the trade for JTR, it would give them their targeted big bat and catcher in one person at a first time arbitration salary of a projected $6M for 2019 (barring the two sides working out an extension to buy out his arbitration years, and a few FA years as well.) Given that you can check 2 boxes – ☑ big bat ☑ catcher – with one move in JTR, I’m leaning that direction.

Since they’ve acquired their big bat in JTR, they could just bring Steady Bat, Gold Glove Nick back as a bridge to Cristian Pache for 2yrs/$16M, or $8M for 2018.

Since they have their big bat and RF’er on board for just $14M collectively, they could then be able to spend more liberally in FA for pitching. For the purposes of this exercise, let’s bypass Patrick Corbin (for whom the Yankees are going to pull out all the stops) and instead consider Dallas Keuchel. They could sign him for 4 yrs/$82M, or an average of $20.5M for 2019.

Now I’m standing at an $34.5M increase. But let’s not forget I’m trying to trade Julio and as much of his $11M deal as possible. If I don’t set my sights on the biggest return possible, I can shed the whole $11M and reduce my current salary increase to just $23.5M.

At this point we have checked off 3 out of 4 of our big needs for the offseason, and we have only added about $23.5M for 2019. That leaves us $21.5M to spend on the bullpen and bench. As much as I love our old friend Craig Kimbrel, I’m not sure I can commit the estimated 4 yrs/$70M the 30 year old is gonna command. But I wouldn’t feel so bad giving 3 yrs/$33M to the 29 year old Jeurys Familia. That average $11M would fit in my payroll nicely and leave me about $10.5M for my bench.

… and for that I’m tabbing Marwin Gonzalez for 4yrs/$36M, or just $9M for 2019. The switch hitting Gonzalez plays all over the field.

So for $43.5M, I’ve acquired a catcher, bopper, Gold Glove RF’er, top starting pitcher, closer and the best utility player on the market… and still come in under budget.

If I could pull all that off I’d order a sweet tea and feel like I’ve done a day’s work.

Vee, great wishful thinking on your part. Yes it would be wonderful but I doubt the other GMs would let Thoppy off that cheap. I also doubt Nick will want to sign for 3 million less than what he has earned the past 4 years. Of course what will actually happen is anyone’s guess.

Like many high stakes poker games, the art of the bluff is always in play. Agents will lie, other GMs will lie and we have not even scratched the surface on reporters and pundits. To be fair, the latter group usually only serve as messengers to the lies they are given.

So, all and all, I feel optimistic the Braves will continue to move forward. They know what they need but they also know how much money they have to spend.

I want a new truck but while I would love a top of the line mega truck, their are two constraints. How much am I willing to spend and how much am I able to spend. Down the road, I will again have an old truck but with big payments, not to mention the higher taxes and insurance. Maybe I will just be better off with a bathroom remodel….

All but the trade for JTR are free agent signings, so if I want them, I just need to go get them. And the contracts/salaries I used were the ones predicted by MLBTR in their Top 50 predictions, including Nick’s. I also used their projected arb salaries for JTR’s.

Hmmm… a compromise that makes sense. To me, the waiver process seems antiquated, and the August 31 deadline reduces the impact of the July 31 deadline.

Hopefully they will also make some adjustments to the September expanded rosters. Having all 40 from your roster in September radically changes the game from the one played March-August, especially as it relates to the bullpen.

I like the proposal I heard from one talking head this past season who suggested that the whole of your 40-man roster may be eligible in September, but an active roster of 30 must be designated prior to each game. Again, that’s a compromise that makes sense.

This year’s GM Meetings begin tomorrow and last until Thursday. Typically, these meetings do not yield alot of deals, but do serve as a place to sew seeds to reap at next month’s Winter Meetings. Here’s hoping the soil is fertile for Thoppy this year. (BTW- these meetings have to be better for the Braves than last year’s when we didn’t have a GM.)

A: In terms of simple math, the Rangers have too many left-handed-hitting corner outfielders and infielders and not enough starting pitchers. It would only be smart business to consider balancing things out some. Mazara is three years into his clock toward free agency, which makes him perhaps the most logical guy to consider dealing. It’s unlikely the Rangers will contend before he hits his final season before free agency.

The issue: Mazara, who turns 23 in April, has franchise-cornerstone type talent but does not have a set of statistics that back up that claim. At best, he’d get a controllable pitcher with the ceiling of a No. 3 starter.

Mazara is a 23-year-old LH hitter who hit .258/.317/.436, 20 HR, 77 RBI in 2018, and is just in his first arb eligible year.

He doesn’t have to be a cornerstone here… just a piece of the puzzle. And with those power numbers, he’d be a nice piece of the puzzle.

“Controllable pitcher with the ceiling of a No. 3 starter”? How about Luiz Gohara? … or Max Fried?

Sometimes that’s just what you need at cleanup. The threat of a game changing dinger out of the 4-hole often means better pitches for the #3 hitter. And that’s exactly what I want for Freddie. When you have a bunch of “gap” hitters, it still takes more than one hit to score runs. But that one bopper in the middle of the lineup is always a threat to change the entire game with 1 swing. We need that guy to keep pitchers honest. RAJ and Freddie are true threats, but both need to be batting higher in the order. As much as I loved RAJ leading off, I prefer him at #2 so that his prodigious HR’s have the potential to score my high OBP leadoff hitter as well. Ideally I start my game with Ozzie, RAJ, Freddie and a bopper. That assumes, of course, that Ozzie rediscovers his mojo. We really need him to get back to being the pre-ASB Ozzie, but I’m getting off topic…

All hitters are not created equal, nor are spots in the batting order.

In 2018, RAJ lead the team in HRs with just 26. We didn’t have a single hitter over 30. That’s almost unheard of in this era. And while I do appreciate a good fundamental game that moves the runners around, you still have to get them in to score runs… which last I checked was a major criteria to gaining wins. All complete lineups have prodigious power in the middle. We must make improvement in that area for 2019 if we want to repeat our division success and move further into October.

One thing I believe is a given, the Giants will make no significant trades or deals prior to a GM being selected and then I don’t see a lot before the first of the year. I should be better verse in the Giants farm talent but Gordon would likely have a better read on that than me.

The deals the Braves make IMO will likely be dependent on what talent is available to trade. While the Braves would love to have Realmuto, I have a feeling they would like a Klubler more. I can’t see them emptying the larder for both.

The free agent route may be best to fill the catcher’s spot and the outfield spot could go a dozen different directions.

Now, it could happen they get neither, depends on who wants what the most. You could easily end up with one of those crazy three way deals which always confuses the heck out of me because one usually involves a contract dump.

I know the Braves want a front end guy for their pitching staff, they already have Julio who can man the back end. I also think Julio would benefit from a trade to San Francisco (big ball park) but that is a thread to explore for another day.

One thing I believe is a given, the Giants will make no significant trades or deals prior to a GM being selected

I agree… and do you know who is rumored to be the front runner? According to the NY Post’s Joel Sherman: “Hear that Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi is SFGiants top choice to become GM. It is in Zaidi’s hands to make a choice. Expectation is decision could come as soon as Tuesday.”

That is today, BTW.

Hmmm… reckon who might just be tight with his old LA buddy..? Thoppy maybe? If everything falls right, a good working relationship could work in our favor. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.

MLBTR: The Giants formally announced Farhan Zaidi’s hiring last night.

“I am delighted to return to the Bay Area and to join one of the most storied franchises in the game,” Zaidi said in a statement. “I have watched the Giants from afar and I have great respect for the organization’s culture and many accomplishments. I am excited about this new opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting right to work.”

Many statements made by our GM last night to young intrepid AJC Braves beat writer Gabe Burns in Carlsbad, CA for the GM Meetings:

~ Anthopoulos is willing to package prospects for present-day difference makers. As he puts it, the challenge is knowing when to sell high and taking advantage of timing. “The reason we have all these prospects is to win. And sometimes when winning is right in front of you, it’s easy to lose sight of that. We talk about sustained winning, sustained success. Sometimes you need to have success first. We focus so much on the sustainable side that we never get to the success. I do think, my opinion, you have to get to the success part first.”

~ Starter Luiz Gohara has lost 35 pounds and has been “doing really well,” Anthopoulos said. Gohara is coming off a difficult year affected by numerous on-and-off-field hardships. Gohara has been working out in Orlando rather than returning to his home country of Brazil. The Braves still view him as a starter long-term. The commitment to staying in Florida says a lot, according to Anthopoulos.

~ Mike Soroka threw in instructional league and his velocity was where it needed to be. Soroka will be full-go for spring training.

~ The Braves have four rotation locks as of today – Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Kevin Gausman and Julio Teheran. Soroka, 21, would be among several fighting for the fifth spot. They will still consider adding a veteran, including a front-line arm.

~ Anthopoulos compared modern-day catching situations to how the NFL now uses running backs by committee. Across baseball, teams are favoring two-catcher systems rather than an individual carrying the bulk. Miami catcher J.T. Realmuto is one of the few well-rounded backstops left, and a player the Braves have maintained interest in dating back the past year. But they also have their own prospect, William Contreras, who projects as one capable of handing routine duties. “We’re really excited about him,” Anthopoulos said. “We like him as one of our better, young position players. We like everything about him. We like the bat, the way he receives. We like his tools. He doesn’t get talked about but he’s right there as one of our best position player (prospects) in our minds.”

~ Anthopoulos maintains corner outfield and catcher are the priorities. There are needs and wants – those two are “needs.”

~ The Braves are interviewing pitching coach candidates, though names haven’t been disclosed. They’re conducting interviews in the next couple of days in California and will continue the process back in Atlanta.

~ Anthopoulos sees Atlanta as free agent destination. Players like area, STP, facilities and now winning are selling points. “I feel like we have a lot to offer. If the dollars and terms are there, I think we can compete with anywhere.”

First, my take really doesn’t change much on how I’ve felt already. What Thoppy says and what Thoppy does may be two very different things. Part of his “job” per se is to create and take advantage of opportunities. To that end, he must also create perceptions. He must elevate the perceived status of his own prospects and he must lower the perceived urgency of his own needs.

Now, that said…

I believe him when he says he’s happy with his IF, including 3B Johan Camargo. Still, I won’t be surprised to see Camargo included in a deal for a pitcher or OF. But I also won’t be surprised to see the 2019 IF unchanged from the end of 2018 with Riley opening the season in AAA.

I believe him when he says OF and catching is the priority. I believe those are definitely the top items on his agenda. Why? If we had to open the season today, we have starting pitching, we have bullpen arms, we have IF’ers. But we have only 2 catchers on the roster, including Raffy Lopez, and we have only 3 OF’ers, including Adam Duvall. That is not workable.

I believe he will move prospects (future talent) for needs (current talent). His history indicates the same. Don’t get too attached to some of our coveted prospects. Some won’t be ours anymore in a few months.

I believe he will be more active in the FA market than we might expect, but not necessarily to make a splash. He will not repeat the BJ Upton debacle. But he will woo solid low risk talent. Think Marwin Gonzalez or Charlie Morton.

I do not believe Julio Teheran will be a Brave on Opening Day. I do believe Thoppy will acquire another proven starter, even if not a true #1. But I also believe he will make a strong push in the trade market for a #1 in Corey Kluber, Madison Bumgarner, James Paxton or Carlos Carrasco. I believe the rotation next season will be new guy, Folty, Newk, Gausman, 5th starter to be determined by a competition.

I cannot get a read on the catching situation. I don’t think he can afford to unload prospects for both JTR and Kluber, for instance. And I can’t decide which he might prefer. Today, my gut says he leans more toward the pitcher if for no other reason than to keep our traded talent out of our division.

I believe Thoppy would be quite content with a complimentary catcher to Flow is he can make a bang with his OF. And I think he’ll make the OF acquisition first to set the path of catcher. And to that end, my gut says we have a new OF before the Winter Meetings next month, when the rest of the needs begin to be filled.

Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic: The Braves… are not a likely suitor for Kluber, who is under control for three more years, or Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, who are under control for two. The team’s bigger needs are a right fielder, a second catcher and — as we saw during their loss to the Dodgers in the Division Series — bench help.

Merely his opinion, mind you, but likely based on the remarks Thoppy made to Gabe Burns.

But it does make one ponder questions such as: If Thoppy is aiming to cash in his big chips on catching, isn’t the only one worth such a price JTR? Are there any OF’ers that are known to be available that would warrant such a return?

Personally, I still think he’ll drop it on pitching. Why? One reason is that Thoppy inferred that the future talent may one day turn out to be the current talent, and we want/need the current talent now. So a reasonable person might take that to say that we will cash in our pitching for pitching, right? But I’m no expert and certainly not a mind-reader. Just a blog reader. 😀

A rumor likely started by Chirinos’ agent to drive up bargaining chip.

Vee, I think you and I agree that Thoppy will go big on one trade and back fill the rest. Who knows, he might even do a two fer…

I think the Braves already have the makings of a stellar in house solution to their pitching woes but maybe it does not come to fruition for another two years.

An outfielder would be a greater impact player than a catcher, even one as good as Realmuto because of the number of games played by one over the other.

It would have been nice if Yelich had been available this year instead of last but that is how it goes, you cannot always catch a break.

So, Pache’ may or may not ever play an inning for the Big Braves, same with Riley. It is just the nature of the game.

It is encouraging to hear that someone finally has garnered the attention of Gohara. I think DOB inferred he was tipping the scales at 275lbs but he looked more like 310 to me. That is great if you are a tackle but not so good as a ballplayer.

He will always have issues with his weight but it is up to him to keep it under control. ALA Matt Kemp…

Soroka if healthy would be the best option for the 5th pitching spot IMO. It would allow the Braves to keep his innings pitched at a more manageable number. Saying that, one has to wonder what switch was flipped by Sean Newcome last year to have such a drastic drop off. Fatigue? Heat? Getting known around the league?

Former GM Steve Phillips on radio, speaking to Thoppy’s statement regarding being satisfied with his IF, specifically 3B Johan Camargo:

“GM speak” says you are content with what you have because it won you 90 games. And that’s true. But if there’s an opportunity to improve it, for instance 3B Josh Donaldson, you’ll still explore the available options.

The Atlanta #Braves today announced that SS Dansby Swanson underwent a procedure to remove a loose body in his left wrist on Monday, November 5. Braves head physician Dr. Gary Lourie performed the procedure in Atlanta and Swanson is expected to be ready for spring training.

I point this out only because it may redirect my own thinking toward our offseason needs. Are we in desperate need of a high profile (and high $$) starter? Yes, I want Kluber or MadBum or another top guy. But what if we saved those top prospects that such an acquisition would cost and used them for a catcher (JTR?) or an OF that we are sorely lacking, and merely sought to make an upgrade from Julio?

How about Charlie Morton? He’s said to want a 2 year deal and pitch on the east coast close to his wife’s family in Delaware. Morton went 15-3 with a 3.13 ERA, 1.162 WHIP and 201 K’s in 30 starts this season. Even at age 34 he still averaged 95.4 mph on his fastball and was among the top pitchers in K’s averaging 10.832 per 9 IP. That would have been a clear upgrade from Julio by a mile.

MLBTR ranks him as their #14 FA and predicts a contract of 2 yrs/$32M.

And let’s not forget that he came up through our system and made his ML debut here. Both Phillie and Wash are said to be interested. Maybe we should be too.

Yes Vee, it is why I have changed my focus from Realmuto to an ACE as the Braves primary need. Now, I realize we cannot believe everything the Braves front office tells up but by all accounts Contrares is the next great catcher in the Braves future. I look for him to start the season in AA but he would not be the first catcher to make the leap from AA to the Show at mid season.

Having a pitcher call his own game or having the pitch called from the bench is not exactly a new phenomena. I know the Braves touted Bethancourt as the next great catcher but he got lazy by all accounts so there is that.

So, after a tie with Rizzo for the Wilson Gold Glove this season, Wilson names Freddie Freeman as the best defensive first baseman…. ??? Excuse me but if he is the best defensive first baseman, why is he not the Gold Glove winner by himself? Just asking….

Looks like our old/young friend, Malix Smith is headed back to Seattle. The kid has to be racking up some serious frequent flyer miles.

By all accounts, Contreras is ready for The Show now defensively, but his bat still needs work. He has zerogames experience above single-A, and only 23 at high-A. He’ll need a full year at AA, or at the very least a full year between AA-AAA. But is there a need to have a bridge longer than 2 years? No, there isn’t.

Why not forego JTR, and sign Brian McCann on a 2 year deal to partner up with Flow in another tandem arrangement similar to what he had with Zuk. Flow’s deal is for 1 year plus a team option for 2020, which lines up perfectly with Contreras’ timeline. Use the prospect capital on Kluber (the absolute perfect match for Atlanta) to turn a good rotation into a great rotation, and take a step forward in 2019.

Now as for Kluber, what do the Indians need? Obviously it will take the “usual suspects” among our pitching prospects. But beyond that, here’s where it might get tricky…

The hot rumor yesterday was that CLE, already losing Michael Brantley in FA, needs an OF that can step in right away. Their current OF projections include 2 guys that have yet to prove they are ML players, including their CF whose prospect report projects to a ceiling of a 4th OF.

What am I leading to? The Indians are going to want Ender Inciarte. We already need 1 corner OF. Would an ask of Ender be a non-starter for Thoppy?

Actually, RAJ could step into CF and you wouldn’t lose much defensively. And finding an offensive upgrade to Ender would be easier than you might think. He slashed just .265/.325/.380 in 2018, a big drop in all 3 categories from previous years. Still, picking up 1 OF is already an established need. Doubling that would be creating a difficult task.

The real trick is making sure you don’t rush your kids too quickly. Bobby Cox had a philosophy that a contending team never had more than one prospect/rookie in his line up or on his roster. If the Braves could slot Riely in the left field slot and add Brantly then maybe they could trade Ender but how much of a sacrifice would that be as far as outfield defense.

I contend that Ender’s hitting woes were due to some physical malady as opposed to mental. Teams are loath to reveal such things but it makes sense to me. I would not be surprise to see Markakis sign with the Tribe but who knows in the crazy world of baseball.

Bryan Price is a candidate for the #Braves pitching coach job. Fired as Reds manager in April, he was an accomplished pitching coach 13 years w/ Seattle, Ariz & Cincy before replacing Dusty Baker as manager in Oct. '13. Price, 56, was Baseball America's '07 MLB Coach of the Year

“The free agent outfielder, touted to be more popular than the Liberty Bell, looks to be headed to Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love. It appeared all along that Harper would remain in Washington, where he has spent his entire career. But that was before word leaked Tuesday that he flatly rejected a 10-year, $300 million contract in September. You can eliminate the rest of the suitors, too. The Chicago Cubs don’t want to spend the money unless someone takes Jason Heyward or Yu Darvish off their hands. The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t have interest. The St. Louis Cardinals don’t have bright lights. The San Francisco Giants are changing course. It leaves one team for Harper, which won’t mind giving him at least $400 million. The Phillies are the most desperate team to land a star, and with Machado wanting to go to the New York Yankees, and the Yankees having the greatest need for him, Philadelphia is the logical destination for Harper. He will be standing in right field with the Phillies on March 28 at Citizens Bank Park when they open the season against the defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves. Bank on it.”

He added this on a radio interview this morning:

“I’m at the owners meetings now and everybody is saying that 90% he is going to the Phillies. I think the Phillies are going to go up to 400 million.”

It’s OK with me. If he couldn’t elevate the talented Nats roster to a championship, he won’t elevate the lesser Phils. And can you imagine how those fans will ride him when he hits one of his slumps or dogs out a play? I kind of hope he ends up there. It will prevent them from signing Patrick Corbin or Josh Donaldson and will hamper their payroll for years.

About that “loose body” that Dansby Swanson had removed from his wrist yesterday…

Yes, he had to leave a game in late September and didn’t return the team for the rest of the season. But that’s not where it started. You have to remember he had already spent some time on the DL in May with the wrist. He got hit on the wrist by Noah Syndegaard – couldn’t be some salad tosser – on May 1. At that time he was slashing .287/.330/.435 w/ 2 HR’s for March-April in what appeared to be an offensive revival after an awful sophomore slump.

Then he got hit.

May yileded .204/.304/.327 with slight improvements over the next few months until he finally had to shut it down in September.

So while many are calling for him to be replaced by Johan or someone else at SS, I’m betting that a healthy Dansby will return to .287/.330/.435 form and continue giving us the slick defense that never waned.

None of that is really news to any of us. Maybe the reliever part, but I still expect him to bring in an experienced closer regardless of what he said. As for the bullpen as a whole, he has plenty of in-house options given the number of emerging prospects at the highest minor league levels.

Gordon and I opined today what a nice surprise it would be if Duvall suddenly re-discovered his hitting stroke. I expect him to begin the year in Triple A however unless he dedicated himself to his craft this winter. Spring training should reveal to us his dedication.

Question marks concerning the pen would be Shane Carle, Winkler, Sam Freeman but we agreed Mr Bionic Elbow, Jonny Venters would return and would be a good lefty specialist and occasional closer. I think most of the pen issues will be solved in house but a closer might well be added.

I have been thinking about how the grass always seems to be greener on the other side… This season, Nick Markakis has won a Gold Glove and yesterday a Silver Slugger…. Think about that…. If any other outfielder became available with those credentials, how many Braves fans would be clamoring for Thoppy to go hard for after him and offer up either a bevy of young talent or pay $25 million a year for his services.

Yes, I know Markakis is 34 years old but I think he has at least two more good years left in him. The only real problem is he has been asked to be a clean up hitter, a role he is not really suited for. He is either a number 2 on a 5 or 6 hole guy.

The real problem is the Braves really need some power to produce instant offense somewhere in their line up. Where do you get that if not from the traditional power spots in your line up?

I’ve been of the opinion to keep Markakis. He certainly did everything anyone could have asked of him and did it well. Two-year contract? One year with an option? I may be wrong but I’m definitely in favor of keeping him.
He seems to be well-liked in the clubhouse and certainly fills the role-model shoes. And, from what I can tell, he wants to stay with the Braves. Didn’t he say that at the end of the year? I know someone did but don’t remember which one.

Liberty Media disclosed Thursday that the team’s revenue increased by $15 million from $185 million to $200 million during the July to September quarter. They are still carrying a considerable amount of debt but their move to SunTrust Park and The Battery has been financially successful.

And why greater revenue July to September? Because the team had exciting players and was making a playoff push. I see that as motivation (and resources) to make sure we have the players to stay in the hunt… and to go deeper. The only thing these corporate execs like more than making money is making MORE money.

*Gordon and I opined today what a nice surprise it would be if Duvall suddenly re-discovered his hitting stroke. I expect him to begin the year in Triple A *

He has a good shot at being an important bench piece if he can remember how to hit again. He’s never been a high average guy, yet he did know how to hit HR’s at one point, and he is a very good defensive OF. That would make him a valuable bench member for a power starved team especially. IMO he’ll never be a regular on any team unless he has some career resurrection ala Max Muncy. But how many times does that happen? I suppose we can all pray, though, right?

I love Ender. But TBH I’d love Corey Kluber more.
Oh, me too! I was all for trading Ender last off season after seeing what the Nats gave up for Adam Eaton, who had similar numbers to Ender’s after 2017…but, he doesn’t have the same value right now…

I don’t know if anyone else read the article on Craig Kimbrel tipping his pitches and the Yankees taking advantage of it but a former player let him know about it and I noticed Craig change the position of his gloves during the World Series against the Dodgers. The results was night and day. Hitters returned to swinging and missing on his off speed stuff.

Here’s a little bit of crazy. Or is it crazy? Maybe it’s sanity, but nobody wants to consider it.

Q: Who is the biggest bench name on the market? … a switch-hitter that MLBTR says has been a valuable super utility player throughout his seven-year Astros career. He’s capable of playing all four infield positions, as well as left field, prompting agent Scott Boras to nickname him “Swiss G.”… and is projected to command a 4 yr/36MM deal?

A: Marwin Gonzalez, a guy who has been linked to the Braves to fill an obvious need on a bench that was extremely anemic in 2018.

… also from a switch-hitter who “has been a valuable super utility player… capable of playing all four infield positions, as well as left field”.

I’d take the second set of numbers, wouldn’t you?

Well, we already have that guy. His name is Johan Camargo, and he’s 6 years younger than Swiss G and under team control for at least 5 more seasons at alot less money.

Maybe if we want to improve the bench, instead of buying Marwin Gonzalez for $12MM per season through his age 34 season, we simply move Johan back to the bench and add the desperately needed lineup power at 3B.

And let’s be honest about it. Johan’s greatest value is in his versatility; thus his value is diminished when he’s anchored to one position. Think Charlie Culberson, only better.

Maybe we give Josh Donaldson the 1 yr/$18MM or 2 yr/$35MM deal he’s been projected to receive to add some pop to our everyday lineup and to be the placeholder for Austin Riley. And if Bringer of Rain were to prove himself healthy and potent, you might even consider keeping him around longer. Or… if Austin Riley destroys AAA for the first half, you might even consider moving Donaldson to fill a need at the deadline. Win/win/win.

And if we did add that thunder at 3B, we could turn our attention to a cheaper option at OF… perhaps even rolling another couple years with Nick.

And we could spend our prospect capital on Corey Kluber instead of JTR, and instead sign a complimentary partner for Flow as has been suggested a time or two.

Eh… just a thought. I’ll have many more of ’em before some real action begins to happen.

While it is fun to speculate about other teams’ players and who might look good in an Atlanta uni, we should all remember the old golf saw, “keep your nose in your own bag” .. Think about this for a moment, the Cubs have a wealth of young talent but the word is out, they have a somewhat dysfunctional club house environment, same goes for Washington. So, what is the missing piece in Chitown? DAVID ROSS…

Team chemistry is a beautiful thing when it works, UGLY when it doesn’t. Think the 80s Orioles before Reggie Jackson was traded to the Yankees.

So, why would the Cubs want to trade Bryant? This seasons numbers were down, that is for sure. Even “proven” players can fall short of expectations. never has the bromide “Buyer Beware” been so true as in baseball…

Well, as much as we’d like the Hot Stove to be raging right now, we are probably closer to this:

It’s just so early, and there really won’t be alot going on until the Winter Meetings next month. And right now, the winds are blowing in all directions, so it’s impossible to make educated predictions on anything. And to compound things, Thoppy is prone to misdirection in his statements to the press in an effort to keep his work off the grid. He likes to keep it all as secretive as possible.

Been silent here simply due to the fact that I don’t particularly care for supposition. But of course, I will get caught up in it anyway. SO……….

FOLTYNEWICZ, NEWCOMB, GAUSMAN and ????

RH:

In my book, RH TEHERAN is a memory [one can only hope], gone as a throw-in trade mix along with two rising arms for a starter, a catcher, or an outfield bat with thump. I’m thinking LH MULLER as one youngin’. Couldn’t guess who might come back, but a pretty serious starter.

MIKE FOLTYNEWICZ probable.

KEVIN GAUSMAN maybe.

TOUKI TOUSSAINT becomes a regular out of ST.

MIKE SOROKA is back according to “Talking Chop.” We’ll see how that shakes out. I’m reserving my effusion until whatever ST brings. Seeing is believing where MIKE is concerned.

LH:

SEAN NEWCOMB for sure.

LUIZ GOHARA is back as well. Lost 200 pounds and down to 210………..just kidding of course, but a half a person lost at least. He stayed over in FLORIDA to work on his craft. I think he can see that his lost summer really hurt his chances of being a regular in ATLANTA. If he returns chasten, all is forgiven, and he can vie for the 5th starter slot out of ST.

MAX FRIED may be in a trade or the BRAVES may need him as a long-relief, spot starter mainly because he’s a lefty.

And I’m not ruling out MIKE FOLTYNEWICZ , KEVIN GAUSMAN, or SEAN NEWCOMB being traded either. Anything could occur by February to my way of thinking. Again, if any of these individuals should be moved, a genuine front-liner would have to come back to us. I really don’t see that eventuality.

In the ‘pen

RH:

AROLDYS VIZCAINO is a probable.

SHANE CARLE is a suspect pending ST.

DAN WINKLER. Either he or CARLE will not be in the ATLANTA ‘pen if O’DAY makes it.

DARREN O’DAY if he proves out in ST.

CHAD SOBOTKA solidifies a slot out of ST.

LUKE JACKSON will not be back.

LH:

Short of injury, A.J. MINTER is a lock.

I think VENTERS returns ONLY as a lefty specialist……hopefully.

JESSE BIDDLE I think.

GRANT DAYTON has too many “if’s” unless VENTERS fizzles out of ST.

TOMMY BURROWS will start in AAA I believe, and be the next man up for the ‘pen by season’s end.

ADAM McCREERY is not ready for prime-time. 2020 maybe.

SAM FREEMAN will not return.

So, depending on AA’s acumen, we make a big trade for one of – frontline pitcher, or a ready-now catcher/outfielder.

In the case of the positions, they will have to carry a heavy bat.

REALMUTO is the only catcher I see in that department.

And in the outfield, we have two serious risers on the horizon after 2019, PACHE and WATERS.

Any trade would have to bring a bat that could be replaced in two years or less in the outfield.

I am board with 99% of that, with the exception of Arodys Vizcaino. He’s in line for his 3rd arb, which should net him somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.8MM (nice neighborhood) according to MLBTR’s projections.

I think given his shoulder history, not to mention his inconsistency even when healthy, that’s he’s a non-tender candidate. That $4.8MM could be used more effectively elsewhere, like as part of the salary for Jeurys Familia, Adam Ottavino, or – be still my heart – Craig Kimbrel.

More likely, they’ll go with a lesser name like Cody Allen.

In fact, MLBTR, in their Top 50 FA predictions, links Allen to… the Braves.

This is what they say:

37. Cody Allen – Braves.Two years, $16MM. Allen dominated as the Indians’ closer from 2014-17, posting a 2.62 ERA, 12.1 K/9, and 120 saves. This year, an increase in home runs and walks allowed torched his value. Just 30 in November, Allen shouldn’t have a hard time finding a team willing to bet on a return to form. Perhaps his camp even prefers a one-year deal with an eye on reentering the market next season, but multiple years should still be possible if the goal is to take max dollars now.

We won’t see ANY pitching acquisition before we have a pitching coach hired, then they will consider whether or not they can “fix” a guy like Allen, who obviously has the ability to be an effective closer, just needs some adjustment. And since they still have the talented AJ Minter on board, they can afford to take a chance on a guy like Allen, who will be just as versatile as a veteran presence in a young bullpen as he will be a talented arm.

Speaking of MLBTR’s predictions (more a fun exercise than scientific method), this is the other guy they predict for the Braves:

10. Michael Brantley – Braves.Three years, $45MM. Brantley, 32 in May, hit .305/.362/.459 over the last two seasons as the Indians’ left fielder. He has spent his entire Major League career in the organization following his inclusion in the 2008 CC Sabathia trade with Milwaukee. The concern is Brantley’s health, as he was limited to 101 games from 2016-17 due to shoulder, biceps, and ankle injuries, all of which involved surgery. He still should have enough interest to land a three-year deal coming off a 143-game season in which he was typically excellent at the plate. The Indians could bring him back if they can fit him into the budget, though they chose not to issue a qualifying offer. He’ll otherwise have a similar market to [Andrew] McCutchen, though Brantley hits from the left side and has historically carried fairly notable platoon splits.

Personally, I’d prefer Andrew McCutchen, mentioned at the end of their blurb, and following closely thereafter at #11.

11. Andrew McCutchen – Cubs.Three years, $45MM. Aside from [Bryce] Harper, Brantley and McCutchen are the best corner outfielders on the free-agent market. McCutchen, 32, is several years removed from his MVP-caliber stretch with the Pirates but remains a very good hitter. After nine seasons as the Pirates’ center fielder, McCutchen was traded to the Giants and switched to right field. After hitting only three home runs in the season’s first two months, Cutch went on to hit .259/.374/.447 in his final 452 plate appearances for the Giants and Yankees. He could fit with the Cubs, Indians, Rays, Cardinals, Braves, White Sox, or Phillies.

The problem with either Brantley or Cutch is that neither is a classic cleanup hitter anymore. And we need HR’s in the #4 spot.

I still believe that Thoppy will make a run at a Padre OF for pitching. Perhaps Hunter Renfroe or Franmil Reyes. Both are RH and would fit nicely after Freddie. Reyes is 4 years younger and thus more desirable. Otherwise they are fairly similar. Neither one is ideal because neither one is going to inspire thoughts of “Gold Glove”. But you can move RAJ to RF and stash either ex-Padre in LF where he will do the least damage. And either one is going to fan the stadium their fair share of times. All told, It’s still hard to predict how either one would hit in STP, but something north of 30 HR’s is not out of the realm of plausibility.

I still believe that the more organic path to an increase in HR’s may be in-house with Austin Riley. But you don’t want him thrust in that cleanup spot right away. Plus, he’s probably not going to be ready by March anyway. July/August is more realistic since he hasn’t yet had a full season at AAA, plus he missed a few weeks with a knee injury even after the promotion at mid-season last year. So why not simply sign Josh Donaldson now and reap those immediate benefits while Riley is eased into the picture?

I know the whole Johan Camargo argument, but I still maintain Camargo’s greatest asset (and his greatest value to the team) is his versatility, which is muted if he’s tethered to one position. Thus, a signing of Bringer of Rain could accomplish 2 purposes: increase the power at the cleanup spot and strengthen the bench.

As it has been for several days, there really isn’t any news to discuss today. The post-season awards are OK, but really that’s looking back. I want to look forward to 2019.

So, with that in mind, the only thing close to news would be the 6 players that officially declined their Qualifying Offers. Why is that news? Well, because for those players, the signing team will have to give up at least one draft pick and potentially some funds from their int’l signing bonus pool. For the Braves, the int’l market (which is even difficult for me to talk about) is inconsequential right now. But the draft pick…

IMO, Thoppy will be loathe to give up a draft pick, even if it were to mean we signed the best guy on the market. We’ve already taken a huge hit at the lower levels of our system thanks to Coppy-gate. Unless we want to widen the gap in lower level talent, we need to keep all of our draft picks and continue to use them wisely.

Anyway, I got distracted and forgot to list the 6 players with draft pick compensation attached. They are: SP Patrick Corbin, C Yasmani Grandal, OF Bryce Harper, SP Dallas Keuchel, RP Craig Kimbrel, and OF AJ Pollock. (Not that it matters, but there was 1 player to accept his QO, that being Braves killer SP Hyun-Jin Ryu.)

So son’t expect to see Kimbrel or Grandal in ATL next season. It’s not gonna happen.

As for Kimbrel, I would be willing to give up a pick. I am not sure what level pick it would be. I heard on MLB yesterday that the Nationals could not expect a draft pick any higher than a #4 for Harper. Not sure why but there is that. It was in reference to the Nats not trading Harper to the Astros last summer.

New qualifying-offer rules explained
Under the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement, if a team made a qualifying offer to a player and he signed elsewhere, it would get a supplemental first-round Draft pick (right after the end of the first round). That has all changed.

Under the new rules, if the team that loses the free agent is a revenue-sharing recipient, based on its revenues and market size, then the selection — if and only if the lost player signs for at least $50 million — will be awarded a pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A of the 2018 MLB Draft. If the player signs for less than $50 million, the compensation pick for those teams would come after Competitive Balance Round B, which follows the second round.

If the team that loses the player does not receive revenue sharing and did not exceed the luxury-tax salary threshold the previous season, its compensatory pick will come after Competitive Balance Round B. The value of the player’s contract doesn’t matter in this case. The nine clubs that fall into this category are the Angels, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Cubs, Mets, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox and White Sox.

If the team that loses the player went over the luxury-tax threshold, the compensation pick will be placed after the fourth round has been completed (as with the previous scenario, it doesn’t matter how much the player signs for). The five clubs in this group are the Dodgers, Giants, Nationals, Tigers and Yankees.

So, any player who declined a QO from the the last five clubs listed, they would only be required to give up a pick after the 4th round which would mean Grindal would be in play for the Braves if they were so inclined.

The Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was on a radio interview recently and downplayed the team’s need to shed salary, which is the genesis of the trade rumors involving Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. But in the same interview confirmed the team was looking at a record payroll of $145.55MM in 2019. It has also been suggested that they would love to shed the $17.5MM remaining on the contract of 2 time All-Star 2B Jason Kipnis.

What makes this interesting is that Kipnis, who slashed .230/.315/.389 w/ 18 HR and 75 RBI last season, was shifted to CF to accommodate 3B Josh Donaldson in a reshuffled Indian IF during the last few weeks of 2018, including the playoffs.

This we know: The Tribe needs OF’s badly. They need to shed salary badly.

Suppose we were to take on Kipnis in a deal for Kluber, offsetting that part of it with Julio Teheran. This would alleviate half of Kipnis’ salary burden while giving them a replacement starter with plenty of ML experience. It would also help make up the hole created by including Ender Inciarte in the package going their direction. We could shift RAJ to CF and insert Kipnis into LF. We would still be in need of a RF, but we are in need of a RF anyway.

so glad Snit got the Manager of the year award!
I had a feeling they were going to go with a bigger name, so to speak, but Snit really had to be the guy.
Both John Hart and Coppy reamed him over bullpen decisions, etc…he’s still with the braves and they are not…

Eno Sarris, a baseball analytics writer at The Athletic, suggested in a article yesterday that the SF Giants trade Madison Bumgarner straight up for the Braves’ Bryse Wilson. This is what he said of Wilson:

He throws 95-plus mph with a plus changeup and a slurve that shows promise and is at least league average. That talent package is too much, this argument goes, for an aging starter on a one-year deal, even one who has been an ace.

MadBum for Wilson straight up? Alabama native, deer huntin’, beer swizzlin’, 4-wheeler drivin’, redneck Madison Bumgarner – who would have a great reason to sign an extension to stay in the Deep South – for prospect Bryce Wilson and no one else?

A 95-plus mph with a plus changeup, if he can not walk the world, is a recipe for great success. In 3 minor league seasons, Wilson is walking just 2.5 batters per 9 IP. He’s also striking out 9.7 per 9 IP. And those numbers are fairly consistent across 5 levels.

V, I don’t even remember Bryse Wilson coming up last year, did he impress in those 3 games? I do recall seeing Madison looking like Kershaw in that his fastball was not what it once was, 92, instead of that easy cheese 95. Why did he miss so much time last year? I know the year before, it was the moronic bike accident…oh, was he hit on the hand by a liner in spring training?
Anyways, he is…29. Not exactly aging, is he? I would make that deal in a sec too V!

First, he started the 2018 season at high-A Florida, making all the stops along the way to being called up for his ML debut. Second, At 20 years and 243 days old, he became the youngest player to appear in an MLB game in 2018.

But best of all, he pitched 5 scoreless innings with 3 hits allowed, 3 walks and 5 K’s in a 1-0 victory in a spot start.

He was then sent right back to Gwinnett.

But he’s one that will compete for the #5 starter’s spot in spring, no doubt.

You see, it is kids like Wilson in the Braves system as to why the Braves management are always walking around smiling.

Trades are tricky things. You don’t want to trade away the next Adam Wainwright but you don’t really want to trade a Shelby Miller and have him leave a bad taste in the mouth of your trading partner either.

That said, it is a good thing for the Braves that MLB doesn’t have a lemon law.

In the last seven minutes, he gets into the ATLANTA BRAVES contract. See what your take is on the future of the ownership of LIBERTY MEDIA.

It sounded to me as if MALONE is on the way to retirement, and that he isn’t particularly interested in retention of the team. Just my take of course.

He seemed to say that both ownership of the Sports South property and distribution rights would be too high to pay when the contract is up in 2026, and that ownership of both is necessary for retention.

FOX seems to be the current buyer de jour. Of course, in 2026 all bets may be off.

On Kipnis, There is a magic age where every ballplayer’s ability recede to the point of being sub standard. Things like eyesight and bat speed diminish to the point where they are just no longer viable major league players. I would be very afraid…

Reports say Kluber is available. Kluber is under control for three more seasons — the same as Chris Sale when the White Sox traded him to the Red Sox, so a Kluber trade would look similar. The White Sox extracted a top-10 overall prospect in Yoan Moncada and a top-20 prospect in Michael Kopech, plus two lower-level minor leaguers. Maybe Kluber isn’t worth quite as much; he’s a little older than Sale was, and he’ll make $13 million more over the three seasons.

The Braves would be wise to consolidate some of their young talent for a star. The Indians don’t get a top-10 prospect, but in this deal they get three guys who could contribute in 2019. Pache is a top-20 or so prospect who projects as a premium defender for a team that needs a center fielder. Riley is basically big league ready, and the Indians could slide Jose Ramirez to second base and Jason Kipnis to the outfield. Toussaint is a high-end arm who reached the majors in 2018.

OK… first, let’s break this down a little.

We know from the comparable deal cited that the price in personnel is not unreasonable. So let’s look at said personnel.

First we must remember, Kluber is a perennial Cy Young candidate, narrowly missing out on this year’s award to a deserving Blake Snell. He is an ace, of which there are only a handful.

Next, we can look at Riley. Are we really happy with Johan Camargo at 3B as Thoppy has suggested? If we are, should we cash in on Austin Riley now while his value is sky high? The truth is, we have no idea how Riley will perform at the ML level even though all indications are that he will rake. (BTW- I believe he will rake.) Also, we need to remember that we do have another guy a year or so behind him in CJ Alexander that seems to be catching alot of eyes and could be in the same position Riley is now fairly soon himself.

Now comes Touki. We all love him. I love him. Other teams love him too, which makes him very valuable. As much as we want to hang on to Touki, we also want to hang on to Mike Soroka, Bryce Wilson, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright, etc. You get my point? We have to be willing to cash in on one of these guys if we want to get back a quality piece in return. It’s just the way it is. It’s also why we have stockpiled ’em, and we do have alot of ’em.

And for the last piece, Cristian Pache. He’s gaining alot of atttention as he’s providing alot of highlight reel spots in the AFL. BUT… he’s actually dropping on the MLB Top 100 list because his bat just hasn’t caught up with his defense. MLB.com says this in their year-end rankings, listing him with their “Fallers”: “Always blessed with speed and outstanding defense, Pache’s bat looked like it was taking a step forward in the Florida State League, but cooled considerably with a promotion up a level.” His best comp might be teammate Ender Inciarte if he can reach that level. Of course, that’s always an “IF” with any prospect.

So speaking of Ender, if you are loathe to give up Pache, then you ought to be willing to then insert Ender into the deal instead because Pache is going to be ready to take over in CF maybe as early as late 2019. And it’s not like Ender’s bat has made any opposing pitchers shake in fear lately, either. It’s almost like swapping Gold Glove defense for Gold Glove defense, just younger and cheaper.

As for me, if the deal is Touki, Riley and Pache (or Ender, I can go either way)… then I’d have to give it sincere consideration. And here is how I’m thinking. Can Austin Riley take us to another level in 2019? Only slightly possible, mostly doubtful. Can Touki take us to another level in 2019? A little more possible, but still doubtful. Can Cristian Pache take us to another level in 2019? Very doubtful.

Relying on one arm over three potential future starters makes me nervous. I’m still for trading a KOLBY ALLARD, KYLE MULLER or IAN ANDERSON for a big bat and let the arms sort themselves out over the 2019 season. By 2020, we should have six or seven well-seasoned arms to pick from in the starting line-up. A KLUBER trade tells me that none of the current youngsters we have on the vine will ripen into a #1 arm. I’m not buying that philosophy. I would ditch the 2019 season if necessary in favor of staying the course. To me REALMUTO solves two problems now, everyday catching, and #4-hole hitter. i would do it even if it blocks WILLIE CONTRERAS two years hence. This solution of solving two problems for 2019 outweighs solving one with a #1 arm for 2019 in my estimation. A two year deal in LF with ACUNA moved to right, improves the OF situation. In the case of the 2019 season, I say patience is a virtue.

A KLUBER trade tells me that none of the current youngsters we have on the vine will ripen into a #1 arm. I’m not buying that philosophy.

I do not knock that opinion, however, I will split hairs…

I am talking about a true “ace”. Every team has a #1, but not every team has an ace. I posit that there are probably only about 10 true “ace” type pitchers, those being Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndegaard, Chris Sale, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, maybe Aaron Nola if he can repeat his 2018 performance… and Kluber.

Some, but not all of our prospects will project to have a ceiling of a #1 pitcher. IMO, Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson have that potential. (And to that end, I’d like to make those 3 untouchable… but I digress.) Many of the other prospects project to a #2 or #3. But a true “ace”?

You cannot predict an ace. He just emerges. Like Kluber. A guy who is in the Cy Young discussion every year. From 2014 to present, Kluber finished #1, #9, #3, #1, and #3. That’s a pair of Cys and pair of #3’s in a 5 year span.

That’s an ace.

That’s what I want. I’ve had #1’s. I loved Tim Hudson. He was a clear #1. He was not an ace. Maddux was an ace. Glavine was an ace. Smoltz was an ace. We haven’t had one since.

Like I have said, we must all be careful not to fall in love with any one player of prospect in the modern age of baseball. The thing that scares me about Acuna is he will be like Harper, 26 and just into his prime when he reaches free agency. Of course, he could also be Andrew Jones and get fat at 28 and be a drag on the defense… Bottom line, you just have to understand that only about 5 teams out of thirty have enough money to buy championships on a regular bases.

Yep, I love what Toukki brings to the game as well as Austins’ potential and Pache’ is after all only 19, he has yet to achieve his man weight. Much like I believe Camargo will get bigger and stronger.

A bonifide Ace would make the biggest difference especially when you realize every other team in the NL East has one. DeGrome, Nola, Schurher.. Okay, even the Marlins will have one, just don’t know who.

That’s what I believe. Yes, deGrom is one. Scherzer is one. Nola… well, maybe he’s close. I want to see a repeat performance before I lump him in with the “Ace” crowd, though. The Marlins? Hmmm… that might depend on the haul they receive for JTR, and then likely only a potential ace.

The #Dbacks aren't bothering to hide it, they are extensively shopping Greinke, who had fabulous season once again, but realize they will have to pay portion of the remaining $104.5 million remaining in his contract. Be interesting if they packaged Greinke and Goldschmidt.

If you could get around giving up the farm by taking on a larger portion of his salary, he’d also be a nice get… and the “ace” I want. Or conversely, I suppose you could get him with a salary paydown attached if you wanted to give up an extra prospect or two. Options.

But Ber, that’s part of what makes an “ace” an “ace”. He just knows how to get batters out, regardless of his age.

Case in point: Justin Verlander (whom, you’ll see if you go back in the archives, I wanted here when HOU traded for him.) Not only did he lead the ‘Stros to a World Championship in 2017, he gave them another strong 214 IP last season, with a 2.52 ERA, a miniscule sub-1.00 WHIP of 0.902 and 290 K’s. All of this at age 35, with no sign of diminishing return.

hmmm, seems I lost a post I made at work…I mentioned something about being 35, and losing “velo” every year for 4 years running being a bit scary, especially for what he will cost salary wise, and prospect wise

As for another former Nat, I wouldn’t mind a Braves signing of Wilson Ramos. I think he and Flow would compliment each other in much the same way Zuk and Flow did, except that Ramos should get more than 50% of the starts… and that is about right in such an arrangement. Ramos caught 96 games last year between Tampa and Philly. I think he could be effective over 110 or so. Maybe more.

A couple of names I would love to add on strength of character such as Rick Ankiel but likely will fall way short. There are several I would pick just because but the ones I think will get chosen: Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay. Omar Vizquel is deserving but will fall short, Bond, Sosa, Clemens… well, you know…

I will always remember the last game Wagner pitched. He didn’t care what he had to do to close out that game. He was NOT going to let the Braves lose. And they didn’t. Just an amazing, outstanding performance. Didn’t realize that would be the last time he’d pitch.

OK… so what did we miss during the holidays last week? Well, not alot, but there was one thing of significance. The deadline for protecting players from the Rule 5 draft came and went last Tuesday. Many teams had to release or outright players from their 40-man roster to make room for additions. The Braves had 4 available spots, and used them all without making any additional room… which left a couple of players on the bubble unprotected.

Those protected were RHP’s Patrick Weigel, Huascar Ynoa, and Jacob Webb, as well as catcher Alex Jackson.

As for the pitchers, Patrick Weigel would have been called up in 2017 had he not blown out his elbow that June. He was dominating AAA and on track to make his ML debut when the injury occurred. He returned to pitching late last season and is on track to compete this spring for a bullpen spot at the least. He would have been a certain Rule 5 pick.

Huascar Ynoa likewise would have been picked. He’s young, just 20, but has a big arm and could have been stashed in some AL bullpen. He could also help the ATL bullpen later in 2019 if needed. Ynoa is the guy we got back from MIN for Jaime Garcia.

Jacob Webb is the guy most have not heard of, but also likely to have been picked. He’s a tough late inning reliever that could easily open 2019 in ATL. He’s older, 25, and was a 2014 draft pick out of Tabor College in Kansas. His long time in the minors is due mainly to TJ surgery in 2015. Webb has shown an ability to miss bats with an 11.4 K/9 rate, and has closing experience, picking up 18 saves last season. That said, he’s likely a setup man in ATL. His prospect report says this: Webb is a prototypical two-pitch power pitcher. A fastball that sat in the low 90s back during his Tabor College days as a starter is now comfortably up in the 95-96 mph range in shorter stints with a sneaky quick arm, which adds deception. His slider can be a little inconsistent, but when it’s on, it shows very good depth. He misses a ton of bats.

As for Alex Jackson, he ought to be dang happy that there is an overall lack of catching depth in all of baseball. He hasn’t performed to a level that would warrant being protected, IMO, but the fact that we have so little depth in the minors – especially at the upper levels – is why he got the last spot. I read somewhere that he would be the first guy up if one of our starters (assuming we get another) went down. Man I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’m not impressed. It speaks to why we signed the less than impressive Raffy Lopez to a deal earlier this month. (As an aside, Lopez will probably lose his roster spot if/when we acquire our new catcher.)

Now for those left unprotected…

First is OF/IF Ray-Patrick Didder. This guy plays everywhere and is a top defender all over the field – especially CF and SS, 2 premium positions. His bat isn’t yet ML ready, but his defense and “elite” speed are. He could go to an AL team in need of a utility man for the last spot on their bench, but chances are he’ll slip through. It’s a calculated but reasonable risk to leave him unprotected. I’ll call that one 50/50… maybe 45/55.

Then there’s RHRP Josh Graham. Like Webb, he’s also 25 and was a 2015 pick out of U of Oregon. He’s on the Braves Top 30 prospect list at #28, and might reasonably be considered the guy left unprotected because of Alex Jackson. I expect him and his 97-98 mph fastball to be lost in the Rule 5 draft, possibly in the 1st round.

There were a few more players eligible that weren’t protected, but none really warrant mentioning as they won’t be seriously considered in the draft..

In other under-the-radar news, in the past week the Braves have signed a couple of OF’s to minor league deals with invitations to spring. They are Ryan LaMarre and Rafael Ortega. Neither is expected to make the ATL roster, but each can remain as depth at AAA.

Why is this significant?

It might point to the team non-tendering Adam Duvall.

If we add to improve our bench, which is expected, Duvall’s bench spot might be the one taken, relegating him to AAA. But his arb projection is around $3.1M. I doubt the Braves will stash $3.1M of their payroll in AAA, making Duvall a serious candidate to be non-tendered.

Given that Thoppy is notoriously tight-lipped, it has been said that any rumors we hear regarding the Braves are purely speculative. Still, there could be leaks from the other teams in discussions, so I don’t think you can 100% discount all rumors.

So with that in mind, the latest name being connected to the Braves is NYY’s Sonny Gray. And before we all moan and wail that he’s just their version of Julio Teheran with a bigger salary, have you looked at his numbers away from Yankee Stadium? Those splits are more in line with the guy that was in hot pursuit by alot of teams – Braves included – in 2017. Given that we just lost a veteran presence in Anibal Sanchez, I have to think this is at least a possibility. But I think adding him would only be a signal that Thoppy prefers to go forward with our stable of top prospects rather than to trade multiples for a “top” arm. Gray is only signed through 2019.

If I had to make a bet on this, I’d say that it’s possible, but only late in the offseason if we haven’t been able to reel in a bigger name.

At this point in the process, and given the overall “mood” of the national press reports, I’d say that a deal with the Indians is less than likely, a deal for MadBum is at least possible, and a deal for Greinke… well, this is getting interesting.

ARI’s front office is saying publicly that they believe they can trade away ALL of Greinke’s huge remaining salary commitment. But there are only a small handful of teams that can absorb such a payroll number – the Braves among them. If the Snakes truly expect to get rid of the entire contrast amount, they cannot seriously expect a premium return.

Now that the Giants have a new GM, he’s reportedly more open to trading away Bumgarner than was his predecessor as they are in need of a major injection of prospect talent. Logically it will take more than one elite pitching prospect to get such a deal done. And it might take Austin Riley too.

So it begs a topic for discussion. Would Thoppy rather pay the money or the prospects or neither? Would he prefer to fall back to Sonny Gray for 1 year and let his vaunted prospect arms grow up in STP?

Why not forego JTR, and sign Brian McCann on a 2 year deal to partner up with Flow in another tandem arrangement similar to what he had with Zuk. Flow’s deal is for 1 year plus a team option for 2020, which lines up perfectly with Contreras’ timeline. Use the prospect capital on Kluber (the absolute perfect match for Atlanta) to turn a good rotation into a great rotation, and take a step forward in 2019.

While we don’t know the terms or length of the deal, I like it for the above reasons. And it tells me that Thoppy intends to use his big prospect payout for starting pitching, whomever it may be – Kluber, Carrasco, Bauer, Madbum, etc.

Not that it really matters a whole lot, but who immediately loses their 40-man roster spot? Is it Raffy Lopez? I’m betting it is unless they’d prefer to keep him as depth, which I could also see. And he does have an option left.

Maybe Adam Duvall is non-tendered early? The tender deadline is Friday, so that decision has to be made this week anyway. (And Charlie Culberson would suddenly become the starting LF by default. 😀 )

Per sources: Josh Donaldson and the #Braves are close to finalizing a one-year deal. This would reunite the @BringerOfRain20 with Alex Anthopolous, the exec that brought him to the #BlueJays in November 2014.

As for Ricardo Sanchez, he was a guy who was a top prospect early, but who could not climb above the AA level in 5 minor league seasons. And that was for only half a season. His K/9 has fallen and his BB/9 has risen in each pro season. Those are not good trends.

Also, he’s gotten roughed up a bit in winter ball posting a 3.45 ERA and 1.340 WHIP in 7 starts in the Venezuelan Winter League.

OK… I know I am bloviating here, but there is suddenly alot to talk about now.

What does the JD signing mean for Johan Camargo? We know that for $23M, he’s the starting 3B. Period. So does Camargo play LF? Does he return to the bench? Is he included in a trade package for a pitcher?

All we truly know right now is that there are more dominoes to fall. That is certain.

$23MM… whew…. but only one year and allows Austin Riley another year of seasoning.

Yep, whew indeed. It’s the same amount he signed for in 2018, avoiding his last year of arb eligibility. At the time, it was a record for an arb eligible player. This time the 1 year deal is a “pillow” deal allowing him to prove he’s healthy before hitting the open market again in 2020. Obviously the Braves believe he’s healthy enough to earn that amount, and JD has plenty of motivation to prove it himself.

And as long as he is healthy and hitting behind Freddie, he’s worth the $23M.

The Braves will now have the luxury to deploy [Jjohan] Camargo at a number of positions. Camargo, soon to turn 25, can give the Braves some cover at third base, shortstop and second base at the very least. Speculatively speaking, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Atlanta try him in the outfield corners during Spring Training as well; if Camargo proved capable, the Braves could deploy him in a Marwin Gonzalez or Ben Zobrist-esque fashion, granting him fairly regular at-bats while spelling Donaldson, Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, among others.

Exactly. Adding JD was also a boon for the bench. Really solves 2 problems at once, bolstering the bench (along with Mac) and adding bona fide power into the lineup.

Johan is not a bench guy…period. best clutch hitter all year long. I imagine Josh will miss a ton of time like he has the last 2 seasons, but he won’t miss any of his 23 million 😛
It does have potential, no doubt…time will tell.
Tickled pink about BMac coming back! Hey, that rhymes!

ever read this blog from the bottom up? or is that just me? V, I was not mocking you when I said Johan not being a bench player, period. Amazing that we both talked about him, and then used the word period…..
I will probably also find on this super slow computer of mine (much much faster on the “old” computer at work that no one likes) that someone else said what I am about to say…guess this takes us out of the running for any high priced pitcher? That’s ok with me….

Those guys were absolutely invaluable to their respective teams, yet not technically a “starter”. And that’s what we have in Johan. Charlie Culberson was sort of that guy for us last year, but Johan does it soooo much better.

Atlanta has been linked to MG since he hit the FA market, and I suppose he may still be a plausible option for LF. But why go sign him when you have a better alternative already in house? Well, that is unless you have both he and Johan. Now that I could get used to. And since Thoppy has already addressed the power need with BOR (Bringer Of Reign), you can go with defense and versatility with the OF signing.

ICYMI- Adam McCreery was DFA’d to make a roster spot for Josh Donaldson, whose signing was official last night.

And in case there is still some trepidation over JD’s health, remember he came back for 16 strong games at the end of last season after a full rehab period, and he had to pass a physical exam administered by the Braves medical staff before his signing was official yesterday. No way would Thoppy pin his first big deal as Braves GM on a risky proposition.

And the best part is that JD doesn’t block Austin Riley and he doesn’t create a financial burden past 2019.

Why Adam McCreery? Simple. It’s because he gave up 5.7 walks per 9 IP last year in the upper minors. He’s got great stuff to go with his 6’9″ frame, but he hasn’t yet shown an ability to control it. I expect him to pass through waivers more easily than Ricardo Sanchez and be outrighted to AAA.

Multiple sources indicated Monday that the Giants are willing to engage with other teams about the possibility of dealing their ace and three-time World Series champion. The Brewers and Phillies are among the teams that have had at least preliminary dialogue about trading for Bumgarner, sources say.

The Braves also checked in with the Giants regarding Bumgarner earlier this offseason, sources say, but there are no active talks or optimism for a trade with Atlanta.

Conversely, if the Phillies were to get MadBum, I’ll be very disappointed. That said, we’ve heard about and seen evidence of how secretive Thoppy’s actions can be. Just because JPM says there are no active talks doesn’t mean there are no active talks.

Sources say Zaidi is likely to ask for at least one high-end pitching prospect in any Bumgarner trade.

On the surface, the Braves appear well-positioned to build a compelling offer for Bumgarner based on their pitching-heavy farm system. Their top four prospects according to MLB Pipeline — Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, and Touki Toussaint — are hard-throwing right-handers. But there’s no momentum for Bumgarner to be dealt to the Braves, who are beloved by many fans in his home state of North Carolina.

I know it’s not a popular stance here in the ol’ B&S, but of the 4 pitchers mentioned above, Touki is the guy I’d dangle first. Wright only as a last resort if Touki was rejected. Soroka and Anderson are untouchable to me.

I know it is conventional wisdom to want everyone else’s ACE but at some point, those ACE’s were young studs too. You do need an Anibal Sanchez type on your staff and if you are the Yankees or Red Sox, you can afford to “buy” a starting staff but patience really can be a virtue when it comes to pitchers.

Now, I don’t think Thoppy is being quite truthful when he reveals how much money he has to spend, after all, why signal to the Phillies how they can out bid you?

I found another story about how he had lost velo in 2010, but that was spring training, which is probably smart on his part (unlike the dirt bike incident ) to dog it a bit, but when he has 95 with his hard to pick up fastball, he’s as good as it gets…but at 90-92? A very good pitcher, but I just don’t think he’s an ace at this point.
so, what to do? Keep counting on the kids? Get the guy from the Yanks? I would be fine with him (dang, what is his name?)

I kind of get the feeling that Thoppy isn’t going to pay the prospect price for a MadBum or Kluber or Thor, and isn’t going to pay the salary of Greinke.

I see him more in on a “buy low” guy like Marcus Stroman, and there is every reason to believe that TOR will shop Stroman. Plus, Stroman’s under team control for another 2 years, meaning he doesn’t come with a long term liability. And that seems to be the MO this offseason… to maintain some financial flexibility going forward.

Sleeper name to keep filed away: Trevor Bauer. He’s the third of CLE’s pitchers to be hinted to be available. He’s not the “ace” that Corey Kluber is, and he’s not as recognizable as Carlos Carrasco, but he may be just as good.

2.21 era… in AL… a full 1/2 point lower in NL with no DH. Those are pretty gaudy stats.

And I would be okay with Sonny Grey too. Not an ACE but would allow the current crop of rookies to grow at a more reasonable pace. We all hate to see a young pitchers go down to injury when forced to pitch high stress innings before their arms fully mature. ie: Boyer, Gooden, Fidrych, Avery et al…

Gil, I know where you are coming from…I was saying last season, that there were soooo many 20,21,22 Y.O’s that innings, and pitch counts were going to be an issue. they may want to do a split season/late season with some guys, split season in my way of thinking, young pitcher A going 100 + inning,s then to the bullpen, young Pitcher B starting as a reliever, then becoming a starter after the all star break. or some other variance. Relieve for a month, then start?

We’ve all seen pitching “norms” going by the wayside and new methods being tried. Why not simply take some of the abundance of young starters, i.e. two young starting pitchers, and piggy back the start? For instance, take Touki Toussaint, pitch him twice through the lineup, then bring in Bryce Wilson for for another time or two through the lineup? It limits the innings on the youngest guys and gives the opposing team a different look in that now magical third time through that seems to produce the highest offense.

Honestly, that seems quite obvious to me. Am I just naive? Is there something in that logic I am missing? There are all kinds of stats that show that a lineup is more productive when seeing the pitcher for the 3rd time. Just eliminate that. Heck… I’d think that starting righty Bryce Wilson and his upper 90’s fastball, then backing him up with lefty Kolby Allard and his finesse lower 90’s stuff would cause all kinds of issues for a batter’s eye and timing. But what do I know? I’m just a guy on a blog.

Listening to JD’s introductory press conference, Thoppy emphasized that the medical staff gave JD a full thumbs up.

He also explained that he’s already talked to Johan and Ozzie and Dansby and that the plan is to give guys more days off during the season. In other words, Johan will play.

We’ve mentioned it before, but if JD, Dansby, Ozzie, and maybe an OF get 1 day off a week, Johan still gets 4 starts a week. Then everyone stays fresher further into the season. That only seems like a positive to me.